Maybe Forever isn't as Long as it Used to Be
by ScaryCrazy
Summary: Kakashi is pissed that Naruto and Sasuke can’t get along to save their lives. But what he doesn’t know is that they have every reason to hate each other, being as they used to be best friends. SasuNaru AngstDramaRomance
1. Introduction

**Okay... so this is a preview for the next story i'll be working on... tell me what u think :)**

**Summary:** Kakashi is pissed that Naruto and Sasuke can't get along to save their lives. But what he doesn't know is that they have every reason to hate each other, being as they used to be best friends.

**Introduction**  
Once again, Kakashi found himself growing angry, and wondered whether this teaching thing was really worth it. These stupid kids just had to be the only one's to pass the test.

And a test on teamwork no doubt!

Then, why, pray tell, could Sasuke and Naruto not get along!?!

It wasn't enough that they had that stupid rivalry going on and were constantly competing with each other. That was normal for boys their age. Kakashi could handle that.

What he couldn't handle was the obvious hatred and utter loathing they had for each other. And they wouldn't even tell him the reason why they hated each other so much!

Now, Kakashi knew that sometimes, people didn't like each other. They just couldn't help it. But the hatred between Naruto and Sasuke was too strong to be natural. People weren't born hating each other like that. Something has to happen first. Something to make that hatred bloom.

Poor Kakashi was stuck watching the two male members of his team fight about such a stupid matter as ramen. That's right. Ramen. And they weren't just arguing about it. They were fighting. As in punching each other in the face.

That's another thing Kakashi noticed. When they fought, neither boy fought with much skill. It always looked more like a bar brawl than anything. That's just another reason Kakashi knew their hatred was personal.

But Kakashi still didn't know why. He didn't know that Sasuke and Naruto went back several years. In fact, no one really knew. Just a few people here and there. And out of the few people that did know, only one or two of them knew that Sasuke and Naruto used to be best friends. They had been inseparable. And the one or two people that did know that, had absolutely know clue where or how that friendship went wrong.


	2. Chapter One How they met

Okay… so a few things about this story… first off, I know Itachi isn't really 8 years older than Sasuke… but for this fic to work he needs to be… so he is… I guess that makes it slightly AU… hmm… not much else I can think of… oh yes... this is going to be a very angsty fic... i've been really down lately so this is kinda reflecting my mood i guess... and i'm going to be much slower updating because I'm not going to put up a chapter until i have two written past it... i'm making this plot a lot more complicated... 

**Warnings: Okay, so this is yaoi. For anyone who doesn't know what that means, this is boy/boy. This is a very angsty story. Oh yes, and there will be substance abuse… I think that covers it. **

Chapter One: Showdown! Naruto Vs. Sasuke- How they met 

"Take it back!!!"

"I'm only speaking the truth, Dobe!"

"Don't call me that, Teme!!!" A feral growl escaped Naruto's throat as he lunged at his dark-haired teammate. Like usual, Sasuke easily dodged Naruto's attack and effortlessly sent him flying.

"You're such a loser."

"Will you too _pleeeaaase_ knock it off!?!" Sakura whined. "Kakashi-sensei will be here any minute!"

Team Seven had spent the past two and a half hours waiting for their teacher at the bridge where they normally met. And like usual, a fight had broken out between the two male members of the team.

"I'm gonna kick your ass, Teme!!!"

"Feh! Like you could."

Sakura rolled her eyes as the two boys continued fighting, completely ignoring her words altogether. And as they were too busy fighting, only Sakura noticed Kakashi's arrival.

"Hmm… So, Sakura. How long have they been going at it this time?"

Sakura crossed her arms. "Over an hour! You know this would happen if you were actually on time."

"Ahh, yes. Please forgive me. There was an old lady that needed help crossing the road."

Sakura rolled her eyes again.

Kakashi approached the boys, who were now wrestling on the ground. Sasuke had Naruto in a rather vicious headlock, and Naruto was elbowing Sasuke harshly in the ribs. They were both getting covered in dirt.

"Alright you too! That's enough!" Both boys froze. Kakashi was always threatening them about what would happen if he caught them fighting. How could they have not even noticed he was there?

Sasuke let go of Naruto's head and they both scrambled to their feet.

"What do I have to do to make you guys at least get along?"

Neither of them answered.

"Are you ready to tell me exactly why you hate each other so much?"

"I just hate him!" Came both boy's venomous reply, and they shot each other almost identical glares.

Kakashi sighed. "Why can't you guys see that you would make great friends if you would just give it a shot?"

This time their glares were directed at him.

Kakashi decided not to push the matter further. "Well, since both of you are so unwilling to cooperate with each other, we will be doing independent speed and agility training. As you probably know, this is practically useless when it comes to honing your skills, but until you two reach some sort of truce, we can't move past this level."

Sasuke scowled. "Damnit Dobe! You're holding me back!"

"Fuck you, Uchiha! It takes two to Tengo!!"

And in a matter of second's both boys were wrestling on the ground again.

Kakashi just shook his head. "Hopeless."

**_7 ½ Years Earlier _**

The people walking in the street ignored the little blond boy that went running by. They ignored the fact that he was crying. They ignored the fact that he was bruised and obviously beaten. They ignored the blood that was running down his face from the cut on his forehead.

It happened almost everyday. The five year old would emerge from the house he lived in, running as fast as he could from the screaming and swinging fists. No one thought much of the situation. The boy had a demon in him, so he had it coming. He deserved whatever abuse he earned from the people that were good enough to take care of him. And besides, by the next day the old cuts would be healed, even if only so that new ones could take their place.

Few people even knew that this little blond haired, blue eyed boy's name was Naruto. Nor did they care. All that mattered was the obvious tale-tell signs of the ever present Nine Tailed Fox in the boy. Yes. He was the Kyuubi vessel, and therefore, they didn't see him as a human.

A few people had occasionally ventured to feel sorry for Uzumaki Naruto. After all, he was a cute little kid, and to the untrained eye he could be absolutely adorable. But those sympathetic souls had quickly been put right, quickly informed of all the evil the boy had in him.

So no one cared that he cried, that he bled, that he existed at all.

Naruto had long since become accustomed to his life. The beatings he got for no reason other than he was breathing too loud, or the ever present excuse of what he would do if he wasn't kept in line. And they were getting harsher.

It had been happening for as long as he could remember. When he tried to play with another kid's toy in the play pen, it had been snatched away and given back to the other kid, who hadn't even been showing interest in the little stuffed dog, and he had been smacked hard on the back, leaving a big welt that was hand shaped.

After that, if he so much as looked at one of the other kid's toys, he was smacked, sometimes more than once. When he didn't look at the other kid's or their toys anymore, he was hit even harder for being rude.

No matter what he did, he was beat. And once his foster parents had discovered that he healed really quickly, the beatings had gotten almost unbearable.

But he didn't start running until he was almost five.

The pain hurt a lot. But there was something even more wrong with what his foster father started doing, something that Naruto could feel in the depths of his soul was wrong. And it terrified him when the grown man's hands went to places that the boy had always been told to hide in public.

So he had run. And he still ran. Not to any place in particular. He had no place to go. But he still had to run away.

There was a park, not very far from his house, but not very close either. Other kids would play there sometimes, with their parents. There were slides, and monkey bars, and jungle gyms, and tunnels. And, Sir and Ma'am never looked for him there.

His foster father was called Sir, and his wife was called Ma'am. He wasn't allowed to call them anything else. He always had to just say two words to them. "Yes Sir," or "Yes Ma'am."

There weren't many people in the park today. It was a little chilly out. And it was a little later in the afternoon. There wasn't anyone playing as far as Naruto could see. Just some teenager kid sitting on one of the picnic tables. He had long black hair, and really dark eyes. But Naruto ignored him.

Instead, he sat on the bottom of the curling, tunnel slide. He was still crying, and nursing his bruised jaw, as well as his bruised ribs. He had tripped and skinned both his knees when he was running, and more blood was running down his shins.

It hurt. Not because it happened, but because he didn't know why it happened. Why was he always getting "punished" for absolutely nothing when the other kids could get away with murder without so much as a slap on the wrist? Why would he get "punished" when one of the other kids broke something?

The blond sniffed loudly, wiping at his face with his sleeves, trying and failing to stop crying. He couldn't stay gone too long. If he did, he would get "punished" again.

Naruto heard the sound of something bumping, and felt the vibrations in the slide he was sitting on. Someone was sliding down, but before he could move out of the way he was slammed into. It took a few seconds for him and the other kid to untangle themselves from each other and then they sat there looking at each other.

The other kid looked like he was going to be mad at first. He had short black hair that was spiked in the back, and long, uneven bangs that hung in his face. Naruto thought it looked like he had taken a pair of scissors to his own hair (which he did). The kid had unnaturally dark eyes, that were clever, bright, and calculating. He was wearing a dark blue shirt, and white shorts.

Sasuke had been glaring at this little blond kid for a minute, and started to say something to him. He was trying to sound angry and mean and cool. "Dobe! Watch where…" Those dark eyes widened much more than they were ever meant to, and Sasuke forgot everything, even forgot that he was supposed to be mean. "You're bleeding!"

Naruto didn't say anything. He never talked, unless he absolutely had to. He had always just been told to shut up and then been hit really hard. So he just didn't talk.

Sasuke frowned. This little blond boy had obviously been crying, and tears were still leaking from his eyes. There was blood on the side of his face, obviously from some cut on his head. One cheek was bruised and swollen, and he had a split lip, and his knees were scraped up too.

"Where's your mommy and daddy? They need to fix you." Sasuke said knowingly. His own parents were never there when he was hurt. Only his brother was. But he knew that normal kids were watched after by their mom's and dad's.

"I don't have a mommy or daddy." Naruto said quietly.

"Oh." Sasuke furrowed his brow in confusion. "Do you have a 'Tachi then?"

"What's a 'Tachi?"

"Well, I have a mommy and a daddy, but they're hardly never around, but 'Tachi is. He's my big, big brother." Sasuke explained.

Naruto shook his head. "I only have a Sir and a Ma'am."

"What's a Sir and a Ma'am?"

"I don't know. They're the grown ups in charge of Foster's home."

"Who's Foster?"

"I don't know."

"Oh." Sasuke thought for a minute. "Well, since you don't have a mommy or a daddy or a 'Tachi then I'll just have to lend you my 'Tachi." Sasuke said decisively, getting to his feet. "Come on! He's really, really cool!"

Naruto slowly got to his feet and Sasuke grabbed his hand, dragging him over to where

the clothed in all black, dark haired, dark eyed teenager kid named 'Tachi was still sitting on a picnic table.

Itachi wasn't in the greatest mood. True, he never was in a great mood, but today he felt absolutely miserable. But then again, what 13 year old wouldn't be absolutely miserable taking his 5 year old brother to the park?

But that wasn't why Itachi was miserable. No. He had gotten in another fight with his parents. You'd think that they would treat him like an adult, being as he was one of the youngest ninja to become a member of the ANBU. And not just a member. He was the captain. He was elite, he was strong, and his skills would be better suited on missions, not baby-sitting.

It wasn't his fault that his parents had a kid when their first son was eight years old. It wasn't his fault they realized just how much trouble having a baby around would be. So why was he stuck dealing with the consequences that come with having an energetic miniature Uchiha running around.

Out of his whole family, no one wanted any part in raising the kid. No one wanted the responsibility of looking after him. After all, his aunts and uncles had their own kids, and their own lives both inside and outside the Uchiha compound. So, since Itachi wasn't an adult yet, he was stuck with the unpleasant task of watching the little snot-rag on a daily basis.

In truth, Itachi had to add that he was a little fond of his own personal mini-me. As far as little kids went, he was about as cool as they came. Naturally, he took after Itachi, in looks, personality, style. He was attracted to dark colors, had the same eyes, the same smirk, and he would even have the same hair if Itachi hadn't tricked him into cutting it. It was a little mean, but Itachi had mentioned how much he hated it when people copied him. Sasuke, who had been trying to get his hair to grow as long as Itachi's, had cut his own hair that night.

Itachi thought the look on his parent's faces when they saw their youngest son with such a ridiculous hairdo was priceless. And Sasuke had flat out refused to let them "fix" it. He was stubborn, just like his brother.

Another way Sasuke resembled Itachi was his loner tendencies. Itachi had no friends. Not really. It might be in part because he was so much more advanced than everyone his age, or because he never had time for a social life, but he didn't want friends. And Sasuke was the same way. He was perfectly content to play by himself, and could send another child off crying without flinching and without laying a hand on them.

So, when Itachi saw Sasuke come running up to him, dragging a little blond kid by the hand, he was more than a little surprised.

"Tachi-sama, I want to loan you to him!" Sasuke said, pulling Naruto closer. The blond had been trying to hide behind him.

"You want to loan me to him?" Itachi asked, arching an eyebrow in amusement.

"Yes. He's hurt, and I asked him where his mommy and daddy are and he said he didn't have one so I asked him if he had a 'Tachi and he doesn't have one so I told him I'd loan him you!" Sasuke explained as quickly as he could, finally pausing to take a breath. Naruto just shifted and looked at the ground nervously. He wasn't crying anymore at least.

"I see." Itachi paused for a brief second. He knew exactly who- or rather what this kid was. Now the only question was to help the poor kid out, or just ignore him. Sasuke obviously wanted to help, but his little brother didn't know exactly what he was holding.

Still prolonging his decision, he looked the kid over, and immediately recognized the pity he felt growing in the pit of his stomach. You would be hard pressed to find a ninja that comes home from an A-ranked mission looking as bad as this little kid looked at that moment. Even his clothes screamed out "abuse", with frayed, and very baggy khaki shorts, and stained t-shirt that was several sizes too big. It was no wonder that Sasuke hadn't ignored him.

"What's your name?" Itachi asked, reaching out for the kids chin so he could get a better look at the cut on his head. Naruto winced heavily and shied away from his hand. Itachi frowned. "I'm not going to hurt you. What's your name?"

"N-Naruto." The blonde stuttered, standing still this time as Itachi gently held his chin and examined his head, carefully shifting some of the hair aside to get a better view.

"Well, Naruto, lets go get you cleaned up a bit."

Naruto paled significantly, but nodded. It had never been a pleasant experience when Sir or Ma'am had cleaned him up. It was scary when they pushed him into the bathtub. But it was still scarier when they cleaned up his act, whatever that meant.

Sasuke beamed for a second, before quickly setting an impassive look on his face and grabbed Itachi's hand, still holding Naruto's. Itachi smirked and started walking, Sasuke trying not to look too pleased and Naruto looking around nervously at everyone they passed.

Itachi would have been annoyed, if he didn't find Naruto so pathetic. The kid was absolutely terrified, and Itachi was having a hell of a time trying to get him to take off his clothes so he could take a bath. Sasuke was watching the whole scene with wonder.

"Come on kid! I'm not gonna hurt you!" Itachi told the little blond as gently as he could. The blond was crouched in the corner of the bathroom and had his arms wrapped around his waist protectively.

He shook his head. "I- I- I don't w-want t-t-to…" He mumbled. Itachi had managed to wipe most of the blood off his face and knees, but it was dried in his hair, and he was pretty dirty anyways.

Itachi sighed, forcing himself not to get frustrated and scare the kid even more. Why did this have to happen to him? Oh yeah, because he was too nice.

Sasuke suddenly came forward and leaned over Naruto. "Taking a bath is a good thing! Come on, I'll take one with you!"

Sasuke energetically stripped off his clothes and climbed into the warm bath water, looking at Naruto expectedly. Naruto hesitantly got up and stepped closer to the tub, slowly and hesitatingly taking off his clothes, revealing a great number of semi-healed cuts on his back as well as many fresh welts and many bruises. Itachi scowled as he noticed the marks. Naruto folded his clothes neatly before climbing into the bathtub with Sasuke. Sasuke smiled, splashing him playfully. Naruto just blinked at him, confusion finding its way onto his face.

"It's not that bad, is it?" Itachi asked as he gathered up the clothes and put them in the hamper. Naruto shook his head, fidgeting nervously with the shower curtain.

"Here! I'll wash your hair like 'Tachi washes my hair!" Sasuke gave Naruto a huge smile, snatching up the big cup that was always in the tub for just that purpose. "Lean your head back."

Itachi smiled as Naruto obediently leaned his head back and Sasuke poured water through his hair, careful not to let any fall into his face. Sasuke continued with the shampoo, pouring far too much into Naruto's hair and working up a lather, laughing as the suds ran down his arms.

Sasuke proceeded to continue with the whole "big brother bath routine", carefully washing Naruto's face and not getting any soap in his eyes, scrubbing his back for him, and all the while he was smiling proudly.

Itachi got two really big, fluffy towels out from the cabinet just outside the bathroom door. Sasuke jumped out of the water much too energetically, sending a wave of water splashing onto the floor. Giggling, he ran out of the bathroom, ignoring the towel Itachi tried to give him. There was a yell as Sasuke went streaking by one of the many family members that lived in the household.

Itachi rolled his eyes and instead draped a towel around the shoulders of the shivering blond. Naruto flinched a little, but allowed Itachi to dry his hair.

Sasuke appeared in the doorway again, still as naked as the day he was born. "Come on Naru-chan! I'll show you my room!" He tried to grab Naruto's hand and drag him back into the hallway, but Itachi caught him up in a towel.

"Tachi!" Sasuke whined as Itachi forcibly dried his hair.

"You can't just go running around naked." Itachi told him. "I get in trouble when you do that."

Sasuke pouted and wrapped the towel around his shoulders. "Fine! Come on Naru-chan!!"

He grabbed Naruto's hand and dragged him down the hallway, squeezing past one of his aunts and slipping into his room. Naruto looked around nervously. Sasuke's room was huge. He had shelves and shelves of toys and a bed that was even bigger than Sir and Ma'am's bed.

Itachi wasn't in the room yet, and Sasuke threw the towel to the ground, cackling as he climbed up onto the bed and started jumping around. Naruto watched with wide eyes.

"Do you want to jump too Naru-chan?" Sasuke asked, ignoring Itachi as he walked into the room.

Naruto shook his head. "S-sir and M-ma'am get m-mad if I do."

Itachi looked sadly down at the little blond. Naruto was still looking around uncertainly, nervously. "I'll tell you what, Naruto." Itachi kneeled down so that he was eye level with him. "You can jump on this bed, okay? It will be our little secret." He playfully messed up the kid's hair as he stood up. "But first, lets get you both dressed."

"Awwww!!! But 'Tachi!!" Sasuke whined, stopping his jumping and pouting at his brother.

"Don't but 'Tachi me! Get some clothes on! And find some for Naruto too."

Sasuke obediently jumped off the bed and ran to his chest of drawers, pulling out an armful of clothes. He dumped them on the bed, sifting through them and taking Naruto a pair of his favorite underwear, and one of the many pairs of white shorts he had.

"Here! Put these on!" Sasuke said excitedly, thrusting the clothing into Naruto's hands before pulling on matching shorts over another pair of his underwear. "We'll match!"

Itachi could help but laugh at how thrilled Sasuke looked compared to how confused Naruto looked. The blond obediently did everything Sasuke told him, dropping the towel to put on the clothes.

Next, Sasuke grabbed two t-shirts, both of them dark blue with a red and white fan on the back. He handed one to Naruto, smiling when Naruto pulled it over his head.

"We match!" Sasuke repeated, looking first at Naruto, then down at himself. "Can we go get ice cream, 'Tachi-sama? Please!?"

Itachi shook his head. "It's too late for ice cream. We have to take Naruto home before his family gets worried about him."

"But he doesn't have a family!" Sasuke argued. "Can't we keep him!?!"

Naruto was fidgeting with the hem of the shirt, and looked up hopefully at Itachi. "I c-can be a dog." He said quietly. "S-sir and Ma'am s-say I am one."

"Hmm. I see." Itachi said thoughtfully. "We can't keep you, but I'll talk to Sir and Ma'am and you can come over and play with Sasuke tomorrow."

Sasuke stopped pouting and cheered up a bit, and started dancing around.

A small smile crept its way onto Naruto's face and he nodded. Itachi smiled. The difference that little smile made was incredible.


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter 2- When Kyuubi is the only comfort **

"I know you two used to be friends."

Both Naruto and Sasuke looked abruptly up at Kakashi. He had decided to cancel their training for the day, and instead was making team 7 eat together so they could spend time together. He had simply explained that they wouldn't be training anyways, since Sasuke and Naruto wouldn't stop trying to kill each other, so they might as well do something more productive.

"You know what?" Naruto demanded.

Kakashi sighed. "Do I really need to repeat myself, Naruto?"

"Yeah! If you said what I just think you said."

Kakashi rolled his eye. "I know that you two used to be friends."

Sasuke remained silent. Naruto was the argumentative one. "Says who!?!"

"I have my sources."

Naruto scowled. "You're lying!"

"Am I really? I seem to do that a lot, don't I?" Kakashi leaned back, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, Sensei!" Sakura chimed in. "I mean, how could those two ever have been friends? I mean why would Sasuke ever like Naruto."

Naruto hmphed and crossed his arms, staring down at his ramen. He had only eaten half of it. Immediately, he started scarfing it down again, receiving a disgusted look from Sasuke, who was sitting in between him and Kakashi. Sakura was seated on the other side of Kakashi, despite all her efforts to get the seat next to the Uchiha.

"Hi Kakashi!" A man had just come into Ichiraku's and he approached the counter where team 7 was eating.

"I told you I have my sources." Kakashi whispered smugly before turning to greet the man.

"Shiroi! How are you?"

Naruto had froze up the moment he had heard that voice. He knew that voice. He knew that voice too well, even if he hadn't heard it in years.

"Naruto!" Naruto tensed up even more as Shiroi came over and playfully ruffled his hair. "I haven't seen you in forever! Look how much you've grown!"

Naruto thanked Kami that the man turned back and began talking to Kakashi. Without saying a word, he dug in his pocket and pulled out some money. He didn't count it, but set all of it on the counter before he slipped off his stool and out of the restaurant. Sasuke watched him go with every appearance of indifference, before he turned back to watch Kakashi and Shiroi make small talk. He couldn't quite place where he had seen that man before.

"And- No! It couldn't be! Sasuke Uchiha? Wow! You've grown!"

He really, really, really couldn't figure out who this guy was now.

Meanwhile, Naruto was running towards his apartment, ignoring the angry shouts he received as he raced by.

That man… How could Kakashi? Of all the people to be friends with, his sensei had to be friends with that man. With his ex-foster father. Just seeing him again had set his heart racing.

He reached his apartment quickly and locked himself inside, sliding down and leaning up against the door as if afraid that someone would try to force it open.

"Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" Naruto gasped. He was trying calm down, but his heart was still pounding and it was getting harder and harder to breath. "No need to panic! It's not- a big- deal!" He could feel the panic flooding his senses and he knew he was giving in to the panic attack.

"Fuck!" He forced himself to his feet and stumbled into his room, slamming the door open way too hard. The air was way too stuffy.

The window almost broke, Naruto flung it open so hard. One of the glass panels cracked, but he didn't care. He needed air.

Kakashi landed on the roof of the next building in time to see the window get flung open. He could see clearly into Naruto's bedroom, and had a perfect view of the hyperventilating boy.

He had seen the stricken look on Naruto's face when Shiroi had shown up, and his hasty retreat. The fact that Naruto had not only paid for his ramen, but had left enough money to pay for the whole team's meal a few times over had alerted him to the fact that something was off. Naruto always tried to weasel his way out of paying for his ramen. Always.

He watched as Naruto paced back and forth a few times, desperately trying to catch his breath. He heard very clearly the yell of frustration that came out of the blonde's mouth, and inwardly winced when his student punched the wall, creating a decent sized hole.

Naruto pried his arm out of the wall, picking a few pieces of wood out of his skin and watching the blood dribble down his arm. Suddenly, he lunged at his dresser, ripping the top drawer out and dumping the contents onto the ground.

"Why does this have to happen to me?"

Kakashi silently moved closer, listening intently to what Naruto was saying as he found the desired objects in the pile on the floor. A pack of cigarettes and a lighter. The sensei made a mental note to himself to berate his student for such a bad habit later.

"Why? Why? Kyuubi, why me?"

Kakashi's one visible eye widened the slightest bit as he comprehended the words that had so carelessly spilt from the blonde's mouth. He couldn't even shake his head in disappointment when Naruto slumped to the floor and lit up a cigarette, desperately inhaling.

"It's not my fault." Naruto's voice was low and desperate. "It had to be _him_."

The first cigarette was gone, and Naruto started on another, completely oblivious to Kakashi, who was now practically hanging in his window. He was too busy listening to the voice in his head.

"_I'm sorry, Kit. It's my fault_."

Naruto shook his head. "No. It's not your fault either."

Kakashi furrowed his brow in confusion. Naruto was talking to someone. He watched as the kid lit up his third cigarette. A cloud of smoke was starting to fill the room and was wafting out the window into his face.

"_But it is. As heartless as I am, I feel for you. It's all those human emotions you've poisoned me with. You know, I never felt guilt until I met you_."

Naruto snorted. "Don't kid yourself. You're still heartless. You just have a soft spot for me."

"_Don't flatter yourself. I just have to protect my own._"

Naruto flopped down so he was lying on his back. "Yeah, well, thanks Kyuubi."

Kakashi almost fell from where he was rooted to the side of the apartment building. Naruto was talking to the demon that was sealed inside him. And from what he could hear, which was only Naruto's side of the conversation, the fox was talking back.

"_You know kid, smoking isn't healthy._"

Naruto looked at the half finished cigarette he was holding. He wasn't sure if it was his fifth or sixth. It was the last one in the pack. "Yeah, I know. But it calms me down. Damn. I need another pack."

"_That's the third one in two days._"

"I can count." Naruto snapped, throwing aside the cigarette butt. "Don't be such a worry wart."

"_Who's worried? I'm just stating the obvious_."

Naruto frowned. "I can't believe it. _He_ was there, Kyuubi. _He _actually had the balls to talk to me. After everything…" His voice cracked, and he swallowed back the tears that threatened to spill and the panic that once again threatened to overwhelm him.

"_Calm down Kit. He's not going to hurt you again. You are strong enough to stop him now._"

Naruto simply nodded, staring up at the ceiling. "Thanks."

"_Don't mention it._"

Kakashi watched carefully as Naruto stayed sprawled on the floor for a few minutes. He jumped up suddenly, looking at the hole he had made in the wall.

"Crap! I gotta fix that before the landlord sees it!" And he dashed out of the room and out of the apartment.

After Naruto was gone, Kakashi went into the bedroom, looking around. The empty pack of cigarettes was on the ground. He picked them up. They calmed him down? How many times did Naruto need to be calmed down? How long had he felt the need to resort to a substance for calmness? And how long had he been turning to the Kyuubi for comfort?

**_7 ½ years earlier_**

"Tachi?"

"What?"

"Why doesn't Naruto have a 'Tachi?" Sasuke looked up from his spot on the bedroom floor to look at his brother on the bed. Naruto was sitting next to him and they were playing with Sasuke's HotWheels set. "And if Naruto doesn't have a 'Tachi, then does that mean that everyone else doesn't have a 'Tachi either?"

Itachi thought for a moment. "No. Everyone doesn't have a 'Tachi. Just you."

"Oh." Sasuke looked confused. "Does that mean I'm special?"

Itachi smirked. "Of course you're special. You have me, don't you?"

Sasuke nodded. "So, then what do people have instead of 'Tachi's?"

"Well, some people have older brothers and sisters, or they might have younger brothers or sisters. But they might be an only child." Itachi explained.

"Oh. Why?"

Itachi rolled his eyes. "Because sometimes parents want only one kid, and sometimes they want more."

"But Naruto doesn't have parents." Sasuke looked at his blonde friend. They had been playing together for a few weeks, and the short time had worked wonders.

For one, Itachi had gone and "talked" to Naruto's foster parents, and now they were too scared to lay a hand on the kid. For two, Naruto finally had someone that genuinely wanted him around.

"Naruto had parents once." Itachi explained.

"Why doesn't he have them now? Why is Naruto all alone?"

"I'm not alone." Naruto suddenly piped up. "I have Kyuubi."

Itachi's eyes widened a little. Was he talking about…

"What's a Kyuubi?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. He lives inside me. I talk to him, and sometimes he talks back, expecially when I'm really sad or really scared."

Sasuke was gazing at Naruto with wonder. "What does he say?"

Naruto scrunched his nose in thought. "He says not to worry, that the fuckers will pay some day."

Itachi choked. "What did you just say?"

"He says that I don't have to worry. The fuckers will pay."

Itachi stared at the naïve little blonde for a second. The kid had no idea what he had just said. Then, he laughed.

Both boys stared at the elder Uchiha in wonder. Laughing wasn't something that Itachi did.

"You made 'Tachi laugh!" Sasuke exclaimed. Then he turned and pouted at his brother. "How come you never laugh at me?"

Itachi had finally regained his composure. "Naruto. Promise me something."

"Okay." The blonde agreed instantly.

"Don't tell anyone about that ever again."

"Okay." Naruto nodded. "Why not?"

"Because they won't appreciate it like I do."

"Okay." Naruto still looked very confused, but went back to playing with Sasuke. Now, however, Itachi was ignoring the book he had been reading and was studying the blonde intently.

What was it like, to have such a powerful being inside him? Could he not use that power? Or was he still too young to be able to?

It had to be Itachi's ill luck that his parents would choose that day to come and check on their youngest son, something they almost never did.

But they had been curious about Sasuke's friend that they kept hearing about from their relatives.

It was to their horror that Sasuke's friend was the little demon boy by the name of Naruto Uzumaki.

Itachi looked up as his parents came in the room. They were smiling at first, but the smiles fell from their faces when they saw their youngest son's blonde playmate.

They recognized the telltale whisker-marks, and the blonde hair and blue eyes. They say hell hath no wrath like a woman's fury, but a parent's fury could drive a person to seek refuge in the ninth gate of hell.

"What is _that _doing here?" Itachi scowled heavily at his father for referring to Naruto as "that."

"He's playing with Sasuke. They're friends." Itachi replied coolly.

"You let Sasuke make friends with something like that?"

Sasuke was staring at his parents. He couldn't quite figure out what they were talking about or why they looked so angry.

Naruto, however, was used to being referred to as an "it" rather than a he. And he knew exactly what they were talking about.

"Get it out of here." Itachi almost cringed at the threatening tone in his father's voice. Almost.

"Why?" Itachi's voice was challenging. "He hasn't done anything wrong?"

Sasuke was now starting to look scared. He was looking between his mother and father, then glanced at Itachi. "Why are you angry? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, sweety. We're mad at your brother for not taking good care of you." Sasuke's mother's voice was sickly sweet.

"But 'Tachi takes good care of me!" Sasuke suddenly stood up. "He takes good care of me!!"

Itachi shook his head at Sasuke. "Be quiet Sasuke. Let me handle this."

"I want that _thing_ out of this house. Now!" Naruto was trembling under the harsh gaze of the Lord Uchiha.

Sasuke followed his father's gaze, and it finally clicked that by "thing" he meant Naruto. "NO!!!" The youngest Uchiha threw himself onto Naruto, wrapping his arms around the blonde's neck. "I don't want Naruto to go!"

"Stay away from it!" Sasuke was roughly pried away from Naruto by both his parents, and Naruto suddenly found himself lifted off the ground by his shirt collar. He trembled as he was forced to look into the cold eyes of Sasuke's father.

"You will never come near my son again! Do you hear me!?!" He roughly dropped the trembling blonde to the floor and made as if to kick him.

But his foot never made contact. Instead, he found himself staring into the murderous gaze of his eldest son.

"Leave him alone!"

"Get out of the way, boy! Someone needs to put that _monster_ in its place!? Uchiha's don't associate with trash like that!"

But Itachi stood his ground. "Being an Uchiha doesn't make you royalty! You're just using it as an excuse to be an arrogant bastard!"

Itachi received a heavy blow to the face for that comment. His head jerked roughly to the side when his father's fist made contact with his cheek.

"I will not be spoken to like that!"

The Sharingan was activated when Itachi met his father's gaze again, and the man actually took a step back. Every reason for why his son had become captain of the ANBU black ops suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Come on, Naruto. I'll take you home." The calmness of Itachi's voice was unnerving, and Naruto hurried to obey, scrambling to his feet and taking the hand Itachi offered him.

"No!" Sasuke struggled uselessly against his mother's hold. "I don't want Naruto to leave!"

"Shush!" Sasuke started crying loudly as Itachi led Naruto out the door. "Tachi! Don't take Naru-chan away!"

Naruto waved sheepishly to Sasuke, also starting to cry.

As he was leaving, Itachi heard very clearly the words that left his little brother's mouth.

"I hate you!"

He also heard the slap that followed immediately after.

Naruto was staring back, his eyes wide with fear and worry. "Tachi? Are they hurting him?"

Itachi didn't answer, but continued to lead Naruto out of the house. He was furious. His father had hit him. Worse. He had called him "boy."

Naruto was a little scared of Itachi at that moment. The red eyes were absolutely terrifying. And so was the fury that was obviously rolling off him. "I'm sorry, 'Tachi."

Itachi paused, and looked down at the crying blonde. Naruto held his gaze for a second before looking at the ground.

"It's not your fault." Itachi took a deep breath and closed his eyes, de-activating the Sharingan. He kneeled down next to Naruto and put a hand under his chin, making him meet his eyes. "None of this is your fault."

More tears spilled out of Naruto's eyes. "Am I never gonna see Sasuke again?"

Itachi pulled the blonde into a hug. "You will see him again. We'll just have to wait a while."

The blonde sniffed and looked imploringly into his eyes. "Promise?"

Itachi smiled warmly and ruffled Naruto's already messy hair. "I promise. You and Sasuke will never be apart for long."

Naruto sniffed and smiled warmly at Itachi, hugging him tightly. Itachi remained hugging the little boy for a few minutes, returning the passer-by's curious looks with an icy glare of his own. No one held his gaze for more than a second.

"Come on." Itachi stood up, taking Naruto's hand once more. "Let's get you home."

Naruto nodded, and allowed Itachi to lead him back to the place he hated the most.


	4. Chapter Three The Truce

Chapter Three- A Truce 

Naruto was a little mad at himself.

It was by his genius that they had helped Kakashi beat Zabuza. It had been Naruto's plan that had freed Kakashi from the water-prison, and he had even worked with Sasuke to do so.

So why was climbing a _tree_ so fucking hard?

His only comfort was that Sasuke wasn't doing any better.

Sakura, of course, had done it easily. Her and Kakashi had long since retired to the bridge-builder's house for the evening.

But Naruto had refused to go. He was bound and determined to learn how to control his chakra so he could climb the damn tree. And he was determined to beat Sasuke.

And Sasuke was just as determined to beat Naruto.

"Ready to give up yet, dobe?"

"Don't call me that, teme!"

'And so the fighting starts again.' Kakashi thought to himself. Despite what he had told Naruto and Sasuke, he wasn't really at the bridge-builder's house. And neither was Sakura. He was giving the konoichi a lesson in chakra concealment, and they were secretly watching the other two members of the team. This also allowed Kakashi to keep an eye on the two, something that was obviously very much needed.

Sakura rolled her eyes when she saw Naruto lunge at Sasuke. Honestly, couldn't that boy see that he was obviously no match for Sasuke? A sharp look from her sensei kept her from slipping off into daydreams about the raven-haired boy, and instead, she settled on watching the boy, who had just easily dodged Naruto's attack.

It really was too easy for Sasuke. The idiot would just throw himself blindly at his opponent. A quick sidestep was all that was needed to get out of the way, and he grabbed Naruto's arm, with every intent of sending him smashing to the ground.

He was a little surprised when Naruto anticipated the move and pivoted, using his free hand to land a punch in Sasuke's stomach.

Sasuke recovered quickly. Using their closeness to his advantage, he brought his knee up into Naruto's stomach, still not releasing his grip on the blonde's wrist.

Naruto took a step back, using the grip Sasuke had on his arm to jerk his arm over his head, leaving his side open to Naruto's kick.

Sasuke staggered slightly and aimed a punch for Naruto's face. Naruto caught his wrist, and they were both still for a moment, staring at each other with nothing less than loathing in their eyes.

Gravity was against them when they both tried to kick the other's feet out from under them at the same time, and they crashed to the ground in an ungraceful pile of limbs.

By this point, Kakashi was seriously considering intervening. If he didn't, he knew it could get ugly. But curiosity kept him watching, still hidden in the trees.

Sasuke had one of Naruto's wrists pinned to the ground, and Naruto had his other arm bent at an awkward angle. Their legs were tangled together, and they were lying on their sides, facing each other.

It was Sasuke that tried to pry his arm free first. "Let me go, dobe."

"You let me go, teme!"

"Not until you let me go!"

"Fuck you! I'll let you go when you let me go!"

Sasuke growled and tried to wrench his arm out of Naruto's grasp. Naruto simply tightened his hold.

"You're such a loser!"

It was Naruto's turn to growl. "You're one to talk! I've got you pinned!"

"No you don't! I obviously won!"

"You did not!"

"I did to!"

Naruto growled again. "Yeah, you won alright!" His voiced was laced with sarcasm.

"You bet I did- ahh!" The noise that suddenly came out of Sasuke's mouth, though he would deny it to his dying day, was a yelp. Naruto had suddenly bit his neck-hard.

"Get off!" He let go of Naruto's wrist, and instead, grabbed his hair. "Let go!"

Naruto muttered something he couldn't hear into his skin as a reply.

Kakashi was a little amused by this point. Trust Naruto to keep the fight going in any way possible. Beside him, Sakura was silently seething. She was the only person allowed to bite Sasuke's neck, Damnit!

Sasuke was yanking desperately on Naruto's hair, and finally the little fiend let go. There was blood smeared on his lips.

"Asshole!"

"Bastard!"

"Just shut up!"

"No!"

Sasuke tightened his grip in Naruto's hair, and Naruto's free hand grabbed a handful of Sasuke's hair.

"You _bit_ me!"

"Get over it, princess!"

Sasuke pulled harder on Naruto's hair. In response, Naruto pulled hard on his hair.

"Let go!"

"You let go!'

"We both let go."

"On three."

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

Neither boy budged.

"You didn't let go!"

"Neither did you!"

Sasuke growled in frustration. "This isn't getting us anywhere!"

"No shit!"

Sakura was getting bored. It was really boring just watching those two fight. She almost started complaining, but remembered that she needed to be quiet.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was far from being bored. There was definitely something different when Naruto and Sasuke fought while no one was watching. There was more hate, if that was even possible.

Sasuke's wasn't looking into Naruto's eyes anymore. He was staring at Naruto's lips, where his blood was still smeared. He didn't even notice that they're faces were getting closer together. He didn't notice until he felt Naruto's breath on his face.

When he met Naruto's eyes again, he could still see the hate, but he also saw another, deeper emotion. He could almost see the memory that was playing in Naruto's mind, and he closed the few inches remaining between them, brushing his lips uncertainly against the blonde's. Naruto responded immediately, pressing his lips into Sasuke's and immediately plunging his tongue into his mouth.

Kakashi put a hand over Sakura's mouth to stop the gasp he was sure would emerge. He was pretty shocked himself. That had definitely never happened before while he was watching.

After a few seconds, the boys broke their kiss and simultaneously released each other, pushing themselves off the ground and getting to their feet. When they made eye contact again, Naruto was the first to speak.

"I still hate you."

"I still hate you. This is just-"

"-A truce." Naruto finished the sentence and picked up his abandoned kunai off the ground, once again returning to the task of climbing the tree. Sasuke silently did the same.

Kakashi finally removed his hand from Sakura's mouth, and motioned for her to follow him. She did, a stricken look still on her face. She didn't speak until they were in front of the bridge-builder's house.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes Sakura?"

"Does- does that mean that Sasuke is gay?"

Kakashi looked down at his student, a thoughtful look on his face. "No Sakura. Don't think too much of it. They were fighting, and that's just how the fight turned out. Although I think it would be best if you didn't mention that to anyone."

Sakura nodded, and followed Kakashi into the house.

**_5 years earlier _**

"I don't want to Itachi!" Sasuke said stubbornly, stomping his foot on the ground. Itachi ignored him and continued to drag him along the street.

"You're going to apologize."

"No! I don't want to! Uchiha's don't apologize!"

Itachi finally stopped, giving his younger brother a harsh look. "That is a load of bullshit. I don't care what lies our parents have been feeding you."

Sasuke pouted.

"Naruto is your friend. I know you're mad at him, but he's mad at you too. It's simple. You apologize, he apologizes, and you can have fun again."

"I don't want to have fun with _him_!" Sasuke yelled.

Itachi sighed. "Remember when mom and dad said you couldn't be friends with him? Do you remember how mad you were?"

"Yes." Sasuke said evasively, looking at the ground and shuffling his feet.

"Remember how we've been sneaking around just so you could spend time with him for the past few years? Do you know how much trouble I would be in if our parents found out?"

"Yes." Sasuke still didn't look up.

"Are you telling me that you want to end your friendship with Naruto over something as stupid as spilt ice-cream?"

"No! I just- I don't wanna apologize to him!"

"Tough! You're going to!"

"Fine!" Sasuke jerked his hand out of Itachi's grasp and shoved it into his pocket, now sporting a defeated expression.

Naruto was sitting alone in the park, gloomily staring at the ground. He had gotten into a fight with Sasuke. He didn't even remember what had started it. All he knew was that Sasuke and him hadn't talked for three days, and he missed him.

No one was in the park. Another park had been built not too far away, and it was where all the kids went.

So Naruto was just sitting alone, trying to think of a way to try and make up with Sasuke. Sasuke was his first and only friend, and he had never gotten into a fight with him before.

He knew that when Sir and Ma'am fought, they didn't talk. But they always made up. They made a "truce" and then things were all better.

But Naruto didn't know what a truce was. And he wasn't sure if it would work. He was half convinced that him and Sasuke weren't friends anymore.

"Naruto?"

The blonde was jerked out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Itachi and Sasuke. Sasuke was looking at the ground, and had his arms stubbornly crossed. He looked for all the world like he didn't want to be there.

"I know you both are still mad, but I think you should call a truce." Itachi explained carefully. He was sure that if he could just get them talking again, everything would be just fine. He had worked hard to make sure they could stay friends, constantly making sure his parents didn't find out. And he wasn't about to let their friendship end.

"What's a truce?" Sasuke asked his brother, still not looking up from the ground.

"I know!" Naruto jumped up excitedly. "It's what grown ups do when they're mad at each other!" He ran over to Sasuke and took one of his hands. "I'm really sorry."

Sasuke finally looked Naruto in the eye, and he smiled. "I'm sorry too Naruto."

"Truce?"

"Yeah!"

Then Naruto leaned in and kissed Sasuke sloppily on the lips.

"What was that for?"

"When grown ups 'truce', they kiss to seal the deal." Naruto explained.

"Oh. I think mommy and daddy do that too." Sasuke was thoughtful for a moment, then leaned in and kissed Naruto back. "Okay. Lets build a sand castle!"

"Okay!"

Itachi watched the scene fold out in amusement. Oh, this was great. His seven year old brother was going to grow up to be gay. His parent's would be thrilled.

Itachi watched from a distance as Sasuke and Naruto jumped into the sand box and underwent the task of building a sand castle, talking excitedly about everything that had happened to them in the last three days. He sighed. If only it was that easy to make up with anyone.

It had taken Itachi about two weeks to convince his parents to let him look after Sasuke again after they had first discovered that their youngest son was friends with the kyuubi vessel. And since then, Itachi had been sneaking around so that Sasuke and Naruto could play together. He was almost positive that his parents hadn't figured out what he was doing, and he got a great sense of pride from that. But of course, it wasn't all that hard to outsmart his parents. After all, he had been able to since he was ten. And when they tried to follow him, a pair of clones fooled them rather nicely.

Yelling and laughing broke out in the sandbox, and Itachi smiled as he watched his brother start shoving handfuls of sand down Naruto's pants. Naruto quickly returned the favor, and soon the sand castle was abandoned altogether.


	5. ChapterFour

Sorry about the wait... I actually had this chapter ready a week ago, but the internet bill didn't get paid so I couldn't update... I've noticed that I only have titles for a couple chapters... i'm not good at naming chapters, but if anyone has any ideas, I'd like to hear them... Chapter Four- 

Kakashi could tell that Naruto was upset about something, despite his continuously happy exterior. Normally, the boy seemed honestly, genuinely happy, but since Haku had died during their fight with Zabuza on the bridge, something had definitely been off.

And if possible, Naruto and Sasuke hated each other even more. They had been fighting absolutely non-stop since the fight. You would think that Sasuke nearly dying for Naruto would have improved the terms they were on. It hadn't. Instead, they were at each other's throats.

That was why Kakashi sent Naruto to train alone in the woods while Sakura and Sasuke were given the task of keeping an eye on the bridge-builder. The bridge was almost complete, and there was a very slim chance of something happening to the bridge-builder, but they were there to protect him anyways.

Normally, Sasuke would have been the one that Kakashi sent to train alone. There was no doubt the boy liked it better than any group training they ever did. But that wasn't the case this time. He wanted to talk to Naruto. Really talk to him. And he couldn't even try that if he wasn't alone with the boy.

Kakashi wasn't surprised to find Naruto doing something other than training. After all, he needed constant guidance. But he was once again shocked to catch Naruto smoking. Only this time, he called him on it.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

Naruto jumped about a mile into the air and dropped his cigarette. "Sensei! Hi! How are you?" He tried to inconspicuously step on the cigarette and smile at Kakashi at the same time. He failed miserably at both.

"Don't "Hi! How are you?" me! You're supposed to be training? And why are you smoking."

The smile dripped off of Naruto's face, and he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry. I'll get back to training."

Kakashi crossed his arms. "Not until we talk about some things. And you still haven't answered my question."

"What question?"

Kakashi sighed. "Damnit Naruto. I'm being serious. Why were you smoking?"

Naruto shrugged. "Why is it such a big deal?"

"Because you're twelve! You don't need to be smoking! It isn't healthy!"

"I'm almost thirteen!" Naruto snapped back. "Unfortunately."

Kakashi was taken aback by the moroseness of Naruto's voice. He frowned.

"Naruto, what's bothering you? It isn't like you to be so bitter."

Naruto sighed and sat down on the ground. "It's nothing."

Kakashi sat down next to him. "It doesn't sound like nothing."

Naruto sighed again. "I just have a lot of things to think about right now."

"As opposed to having nothing to think about?"

Naruto shot his sensei a dirty look. "Yeah. Something like that."

"Is this about Haku?" Kakashi pried.

Naruto nodded. "Some of it."

Kakashi frowned. "Let me guess. Most of it is Sasuke?"

Naruto tensed slightly. "Stupid bastard. I hate him!"

Sasuke was jumping through the trees in search of Kakashi. The bridge-builder had gone home to eat lunch, and he had left Sakura there with him.

Sakura had been annoying the shit out of him all day. She wouldn't stop _worrying_ over him. Honestly? Did he look like someone that needed to be worried about?

Okay, so maybe he was still pretty beat up from his fight with Haku, but he was fine! It was only needles! And the cuts were all scabbed up!

But no, Sakura had to spend every second of the day telling him that he should be resting and should put the bandages back on. He wasn't a fucking porcelain doll!

He landed in a tree and stopped, looking down at where Naruto and Kakashi were sitting on the ground. They were apparently having a private conversation. For a moment he considered interrupting, but then heard his own name.

"Let me guess. Most of it is Sasuke?" Kakashi met his gaze, and gave him a look that very clearly stated "don't interrupt" before turning back and listening to Naruto's reply.

"Stupid Bastard. I hate him!"

Sasuke sneered. That ungrateful little dick!

"You know, Naruto, he saved your life."

Naruto glared at Kakashi. "Yeah! And I wish he would have died instead of Haku!"

"Naruto!" Kakashi scolded.

"What? Do you want me to lie? It's not my fault the bastard jumped in front of those needles for me! He didn't have to! I didn't ask him to!" Naruto spat.

Kakashi shook his head. "Sometimes you don't have to ask. Being a team means-"

"Being a team had nothing to do with it! He was doing the most dickhead thing he could think of! We were gonna die and all he did was die in the most _noble, arrogant_ way he could think of! Then, he would be the hero and I would just be the loser who died anyways despite all his efforts to save me!"

Sasuke had to force himself to not jump down and beat the little bastard to a bloody pulp.

Kakashi stared at Naruto, and was speechless for a moment. "I don't think that has anything to do with it, Naruto."

Sasuke nodded to himself. In truth, he had no clue why he had felt the need to jump in front of Haku's attack, but he was sure that wasn't the reason.

"Oh really?" Naruto demanded, fidgeting with something in his pocket. He pulled out another cigarette and lit it. "Why did he do it then, huh?"

Kakashi calmly took the cigarette out of Naruto's mouth and crushed it on the ground. "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you were friends." He held up his hand to silence Naruto's argument. "Don't try to tell me you weren't. Shiroi told me that you two were inseparable."

Naruto scowled. "Well he was lying! Who the hell is Shiroi anyways?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "He was you're foster father. You weren't that young, Naruto. You should be able to remember that much at least."

Naruto froze, and frantically pulled out another cigarette. His hands were shaking as he lit it. "That had _nothing_ to do with why Sasuke saved me. NOTHING! He's too much of a bastard to be so sentimental!"

Kakashi frowned and snatched the cigarette away, snuffing it out on the ground. "You need to stop doing that. You are way to young to be smoking. I don't know why Sasuke saved you. But you need to stop thinking so badly of him. That's half the problem between you two."

Naruto scowled and stood up. His hands were still shaking. He suddenly chucked the lighter at Kakashi's head. "I'm not going to talk to you if you're going to judge me! I know why Sasuke did it! He did it out of spite!" The blonde stormed off, stopping only long enough to pull out another cigarette and lighter. He lit up and took off, leaving Kakashi staring after him, a mildly confused expression on his face.

When Naruto was gone, Sasuke jumped down out of the tree and approached his sensei. The frown on his face was much deeper than normal.

"I take it you heard all of that." It wasn't a question.

Sasuke nodded.

"Where did your bandages go?"

It was Sasuke's turn to scowl at the older man. "I ripped them off. I don't need them."

Kakashi sighed. "I don't suppose you're going to talk to me either?"

Sasuke stood in silence for a minute, then sat down facing Kakashi. "What do you want to talk about?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "The weather."

Sasuke repressed his snort and glared at the man.

"I want to talk about you and Naruto." Kakashi said simply.

"What about us?"

"I don't know. You tell me." Kakashi said seriously. "What is this unadulterated hatred between you? Where did it come from?"

Sasuke didn't answer.

"Is there anything you WILL tell me?"

Sasuke looked up at his teacher. "It's personal. Just drop it." He stood up. "Is there anything else?"

Kakashi sighed. "Why did you save him, if you hate him so much?"

Sasuke was silent for another minute. "I don't know." He turned and walked away.

Kakashi shook his head. At least this time he had gotten a little bit of information. He now knew that Naruto and Sasuke's mutual hatred was personal. He made a mental note to go and talk to Shiroi again when they got back to Konoha.

**_4 Years Earlier _**

"What are we doing, 'Tachi?" Sasuke asked his older brother. He had just spent the day with Naruto, and had just dropped him off at his house. But instead of taking him home, Itachi had taken him to the market.

"Tomorrow is Naruto's birthday." Itachi said, looking around at the stores. "I thought you might like to get him something."

Sasuke beamed. "Really! How old is he gonna be?"

"He's going to be nine." Itachi led the way into a toy store. "What do you think he'd like?"

Sasuke looked around, his brow furrowed in deep thought. He darted off, running through the rows and rows of toys. Itachi smiled, making a few nearby girls swoon. Uchiha Itachi was the talk of the town. He had skill, looks, and attitude, and to witness him smiling for any reason was like to that of seeing the Hailey's comet. It was extremely rare.

Sasuke skidded to a halt in front of a shelf of stuffed animals. He was smiling widely, and started jumping to reach a stuffed frog. Itachi came up behind him and brought it down off the shelf. He looked at it. The thing looked ridiculous.

"You want to give this to Naruto?" He asked skeptically. Sasuke nodded, taking it out of Itachi's hands and hugging it. "He likes frogs!"

Itachi smirked. That was true enough. Naruto was always the one that came running up clutching a bullfrog in his hands whenever they went swimming. The kid had no fear of frogs, newts, snakes, or any amphibious or reptilian creature. Bugs, however, were a far different story.

Itachi took Sasuke to the checkout, and paid for the stuffed abomination. Sasuke was beaming and practically danced the whole way home.

Naruto was at the door within a second of it being knocked on. He smiled up at Itachi, throwing his arms around his waist in a tight hug. Itachi smiled and patted Naruto's head lovingly, before unwrapping the blonde's arms from his waist and leading him away from the house and to the park that him and Sasuke practically lived in.

"Where's Sasuke?" Naruto asked, looking around as if expecting his friend to appear out of the bushes.

Itachi smiled. "He's waiting at the park. He's got a surprise for you."

"Oh!" Naruto laughed excitedly. "Really? What kind of surprise."

"You'll just have to wait and see."

Naruto pouted. Then, he laughed and started running to the park. Itachi followed at a more leisurely pace.

Sasuke had been waiting impatiently for Itachi to bring Naruto. He had stayed at the park to guard Naruto's present and the cake that Itachi had picked up that morning. It was chocolate, with orange icing, and it had taken every ounce of Sasuke's self control to not start eating it.

"Sasuke!" Sasuke looked up and saw Naruto running towards him. He jumped up and ran towards the blond. They met in a crashing hug that sent them crashing to the ground and laughing loudly.

"I've got a present for you!" Sasuke exclaimed, pushing himself off the ground and pulling Naruto to his feet.

Naruto's eyes went wide. "For me? Why?"

Sasuke giggled. "Because it's your birthday, silly! Itachi told me!"

Naruto looked mildly confused, but followed Sasuke over to the table with the cake and the wrapped up present none-the-less.

"Happy Birthday!" Sasuke said, handing him the badly wrapped present. He had insisted on wrapping it himself.

Naruto took the present, smiling widely. "What is it?"

"Open it!"

Itachi approached the excited boys, grinning. Naruto carefully tore the wrapping paper off and he squealed when he saw the stuffed frog.

"Wow! I love it!" He threw his arms around Sasuke and hugged him tight, kissing him on the cheek. Sasuke smiled, looking very pleased with himself and kissed Naruto's cheek.

"We have cake!"

Itachi, knowing that he would soon regret giving the already hyper boys more sugar, opened the box that contained the cake and carefully cut a piece for both of them.


	6. Chapter Five

**Hey... Sorry it's been so long since I last updated... My internet bill didn't get paid... I've had this chapter ready for almost three months... **

Chapter 5-

Kakashi rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time that night. Sitting and talking with a very drunk Shiroi was not his idea of a good time. He didn't like the guy at all. Actually, the man pissed him off to no end, the way he talked about Naruto. And it was worse when he was drunk. But he wouldn't talk when he was sober, and so far, this man had been his only source of information about Naruto's and Sasuke's past friendship, and he was hoping to get as much information as possible before he ditched this guy. Or killed him. Whichever came first.

"…and that Itachi! Boy! He was a creepy one! The first time he showed up at my door with the little bastard I almost wet myself! And you know what-_hic_-? That prick _threatened_ me! He told me I wasn't to lay a hand on the demon again! It's no wonder he went Psycho and killed his whole family! Who in their right mind would stick up for that thing in the first place?"

Kakashi glared at the man. "Lay a hand on him?"

Shiroi frowned. "Yeah. He told me I had to stop beating him. Not like it mattered anyways. The kid was a freak! He was completely healed after a day."

"When was this?"

"When was what? When the Uchiha-bastard threatened me? I dunno… I think Naruto was five… Yeah. Because I just got an increase in pay for taking care of him for five years. You know, things started to go downhill from there. The wife is a nag, and I couldn't even take out my anger on the little demon boy anymore. I couldn't even give him a good smack when he back talked." Shiroi frowned down at his glass.

"So how long were they friends?"

Shiroi shrugged. "Right up until Itachi went bonkers and killed the entire clan." He started laughing, pausing long enough to down the rest of his drink. He laughed some more, and suddenly puked all over himself.

Disgusted, Kakashi got up and left.

Naruto sat on his bed, staring at the empty pack of cigarettes in his hand. He really wanted another one, but it was too late. One of his neighbors bought them for him, but he was sure to be in bed by now. It was 2:00 in the morning, after all.

Sighing, he got up, rummaging through his stuff. He did have something else. His neighbor had sold him some pot. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to smoke it yet.

He found the little bag of weed and stuffed it in his pocket. He grabbed a lighter and headed out of the apartment, not bothering to put a shirt on. It was a decently warm night.

Naruto walked slowly through the dead town. No one was out, no one could see him. He liked it like this. He made it to the bridge where team seven met every morning. In fact, he knew he would be back there again in a few hours, once the sun had risen. It seemed like a fitting place.

Sitting with his feet dangling over the edge of the bridge, he pulled the little bag out of his pocket. He took out a little paper and rolled half of the dried green leaves. He brought it up to his lips and lit it, inhaling deeply, sputtering and coughing, and breathed out shakily, watching the smoke slowly disappear in front of him.

He took another drag and delighted in the calm feeling the started spreading over him.

"You know, you can smell that from a mile away." Naruto jumped at the familiar voice, and looked up to see Kiba standing behind him, with Akamaru on his shoulder. Akamaru barked in agreement.

Naruto shrugged, turning away from the dog-boy and taking another drag. "Why do you care?"

Kiba snorted. "I don't. I just thought you deserved fair warning so you know why you get caught."

Naruto rolled his eyes. Clearly, he wasn't too concerned with it.

Kiba frowned down at Naruto's back. "You sure have a lot of scars, even for a ninja."

Naruto shrugged. It was something he had no desire to talk about. Kiba got the hint and left.

It was at this point in time, that in his relaxed state, Naruto felt someone else approaching. He recognized the chakra, but appeared unfazed.

Kakashi caught a whiff of something. He was on his way home from the bar, still milling over what Shiroi had disclosed to him.

'Someone's doing something they shouldn't be.' He thought to himself. He didn't actually care. But he was a curious son-of-a-bitch, and went to find out who was doing the dirty deed.

He really shouldn't have been as surprised as he was to find that the culprit was Naruto. But he was surprised. He was very surprised. _His_ student was smoking a joint. He was almost furious. Almost.

Kakashi couldn't help but think about what Shiroi had told him. He had beaten Naruto when he was only five. It explained a lot.

But that didn't mean that he was just going to let the kid get away with smoking pot.

Stealthily, he snuck up behind Naruto and put a Kunai to his throat.

"Now, now Naruto. I'm disappointed. Hasn't anything I taught you been worth it? You can't let your guard down. And you shouldn't be smoking that."

Naruto started laughing, and suddenly he popped into a cloud of smoke.

"Who said I let my guard down, eh sensei?" Came Naruto's voice behind him. Kakashi turned to see Naruto jumping down from the high post on the bridge. He was still smoking the last of his joint. "I can't believe how much easier it is to focus when I'm calm."

Kakashi looked at him carefully. Yes. Naruto looked calm. Unusually calm and relaxed, standing there in a pair of sweat pants looking like he didn't have a care in the world. Other than the smell, that was the only indication that the boy had consumed a substance of any sort.

"Do you do it often?" Kakashi asked. His voice was surprisingly passive, even to himself. He couldn't be angry, even if the lesson he had been planning on teaching Naruto had just backfired.

Naruto shook his head. "This is the first time. Are you mad?"

Kakashi thought for a second. Was he mad? Could he still be mad at Naruto's antics, now that he was starting to realize just what kind of hell he had been through? No. He wasn't mad. "I'm not mad. Just disappointed."

Naruto winced at the solemn tone of Kakashi's voice.

"I wouldn't expect you to run to substances for your problems, Naruto. Although, I'm blind because I didn't see it coming. But I guess I can understand. I know what happened at the foster home."

Naruto froze, and his eyes widened. He dropped the roll on the ground. "Y-you know?" The calmness was gone.

"Yes. Shiroi told me."

Naruto was staring at Kakashi with a mixture of pure shock and disbelief. "H-he told you?"

"Yes. And I know it was bad, and that he was cruel, but that really isn't reason enough to head down the path you are taking."

A dark look passed over Naruto's face, and he suspected one of two options. Either Kakashi was just as much of a bastard as his foster father was, or Shiroi hadn't told him the whole story. He was betting- or maybe he was praying it was the second option. He didn't know if he would be able to handle finding out that Kakashi thought "what had happened" was so trivial that it shouldn't matter anymore. There had been too many people that had just brushed it off like it was nothing. He couldn't handle that- not from his sensei.

"Naruto?" Kakashi asked, frowning. The boy was starting to tremble and was apparently lost in thought.

"Yes, Sensei?" His voice was forced- formal even.

"What's wrong?"

Naruto smiled. "Nothing! I think that smoke just went to my head! I'm gonna go to bed now." And he was gone, leaving Kakashi frowning and seriously wondering what he was missing out of the whole picture.

**_3 ½ Years Earlier _**

Sasuke smiled and hummed to himself as Itachi walked him home. It was the day before his birthday, and Itachi had something special planned for him and Naruto.

Itachi smiled at the joy he felt radiating off his younger brother. It seemed that his sole purpose was to make sure his little brother was happy. It was the only part of his life that was going right at all.

But he wasn't discontent.

Sasuke gave Itachi a big hug when they reached the gates of the Uchiha compound.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Itachi said quietly, playfully ruffling Sasuke's hair. Sasuke smiled a huge smile and darted off into the compound while Itachi turned and walked back the way they had come.

Any other day, he would be heading back to his apartment. He had finally had one fight too many with his parents and had gotten a place of his own. But he wasn't heading there now. No. He was going to the dreadful prison, also known as a foster home, where a certain blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy was waiting for him.

And Naruto wasn't exactly waiting patiently. He had been pacing in front of the door since the moment Itachi and Sasuke had dropped him off. He was excited. Itachi was taking him to the toystore to buy Sasuke a birthday present. He had been looking forward to this since his own birthday, a few months before.

Finally, there was the tell-tale knock on the door, three short, quiet knocks that had become Itachi's signature. Naruto flung the door open, beaming up at Itachi.

Itachi offered only a small smile in return, but Naruto had known Itachi too long to think much of it. Any smile from Itachi had huge significance.

Naruto started chatting up a storm as he walked with Itachi, who for the most part remained silent. But his silence didn't phase Naruto at all. It was just another one of Itachi's trademark traits, if a relatively new one. Sasuke and Naruto had taken it upon themselves to interrogate Itachi about his growing determination to remain silent.

Itachi had simply responded "I would rather listen than be listened to."

It had been enough for the younger boys, who had no problem telling Itachi anything and everything that popped into their heads.

And Itachi truly enjoyed just listening. It made the world seem less complicated, when all he had to think about was the meanderings of a nine-year-old and a soon-to-be nine-year-old. It was very calming.

Naruto squealed excitedly when they entered the store, and darted off to look at the toys. Itachi was reminded of the day, just months before when Sasuke had reacted in much the same manner.

It took Naruto a lot longer to choose a present than it had for Sasuke. He kept darting back and forth, and Itachi suspected that he was too excited to really see what it was he was looking at.

"Choose something yet?" Itachi asked, walking up to the blonde that was paused momentarily in front of some action figures. Blonde hair waved from side to side as Naruto vigorously shook his head and darted down the aisle.

A yell was heard, and Naruto collided with the store owner.

"Oops! Sorry mister." Naruto said sincerely, helping the man pick up the toys he had been carrying.

"Don't worry sonny." The man said kindly, taking the toys. "I just need to watch where-" His eyes narrowed as he looked down at the little blonde. Itachi tensed as he watched the blood rush to the man's face.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing in my store?" Naruto shrunk away from the man's suddenly harsh voice.

"I'm looking for a birthday present for Sasuke." Naruto whimpered. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see Itachi standing behind him.

"Is there a problem with that?" There was an unspoken threat in Itachi's voice, and the man's eyes widened even further.

"No. Not at all." He shot Naruto a dirty look and shuffled off to put the toys back on the shelves.

Naruto smiled at Itachi, and suddenly pointed at a package of play shuriken. "I want to get Sasuke that!"

Itachi smiled, picking the shuriken off the shelf and leading Naruto to the cash register.

"Sasuke, I know it's a day early, but I wanted to tell you what you're getting for your birthday."

Sasuke looked up from his plate and at his father. "Really?"

His father was smiling fondly. "Your mother and I have decided that you are going to be enrolled in the Ninja Academy."

Sasuke's face broke into a huge grin. "Really?" He jumped up from the table and cheered. "When?"

His father smiled at his mother. "We'll go there tomorrow to get you enrolled and you'll start the next day."

Sasuke started jumping up and down. "Oh wow!" He flung himself at his father and hugged him tight. "I can't wait to tell Itachi-sama!"

His father's smile faltered a bit, and he exchanged a look with his wife, but returned his son's hug.

"Thank you!" Sasuke released his father and plopped back down in his chair, shoveling the rice in his mouth, suddenly finding it hard to chew with the big smile still plastered on his face.

There was a knock on the door, and Sasuke smiled at his mother as she got up to answer it, dribbling rice down his front.

A few moments later, she returned and whispered something to his father. Sasuke stared as the smile completely disappeared from his face and he got up, storming out of the house and leaving his dinner unfinished.

"Where's dad going?" Sasuke asked, staring worriedly after him as his mother started clearing the table.

"He has to talk to your brother." She said simply before whisking off to the kitchen.

"Oh." Sasuke said to the now empty room. His previous happiness was suddenly gone, replaced with a feeling of intense worry. It was never a good thing when his father and brother "talked".

Itachi knew the moment he got home that he wasn't alone. He could feel the presence in his small apartment. Better yet. He knew exactly whose presence it was.

"What do you want, father?" He asked carelessly as he flicked on the lights and turned to look at the man that was glaring at him.

"You think you're pretty clever, don't you?" His father hissed, walking up to his oldest son and staring down at him. He was only a few inches taller than Itachi, but he was using the small height difference for all it was worth.

"No." Itachi said simply, turning from his father and walking into the kitchen. "I know I am."

"Don't walk away from me, boy!" Itachi felt a hand on his shoulder and was suddenly spun around to face his father. "Did you think I wouldn't find out?"

"Find out what?" Itachi would have turned and walked away again if his father didn't have such a strong grip on his shoulder.

"Don't play stupid! I told you, Uchiha's don't associate with trash! I told you that Sasuke wasn't to be friends with a demon!"

Itachi narrowed his eyes, glaring daggers at the man he was ashamed to call his father. "His name is Naruto. And it isn't your place to decide who your son can be friends with. I proved that to you long ago." He jerked away from his father and began rummaging in his cabinets. He could feel the anger radiating off the man behind him.

"I don't want you stepping foot inside the compound." His voice was shaking with barely suppressed rage.

"Hn. It's not like I do anyways."

"I will not allow you to see Sasuke, ever."

Itachi paused in his movements, glaring down at the package of rice he had just pulled down. "Do you really think you could stop me? That you could stop him? He loves his big brother, even more so than his parents." He finally turned to face his father. "It's not all that surprising, really, considering you didn't even give him a second glance until you discovered that he wasn't growing up to be a spitting image of you. Did you even see him between the time he was born and the time he made his first and only friend? No. You just pawned him off on the only available subject. It's really not my fault he adores me so, but I adore him. And as powerful as you think you are, you can't severe a brotherly bond."

Itachi smirked as the elder Uchiha clenched his fist. Without another word, he turned on his heel and stormed from the apartment, pausing at the door.

"If I catch you anywhere near him, I will personally strangle you."

Itachi laughed as his father slammed the door.


	7. Chapter Six

Hey... Sorry its been so long since I updated... I don't believe I've ever had this huge of a writer's block before... I'm not sure if I'm happy with this chapter... or the previous one for that matter... but I have it done, so I figured I'd post it now... so... here it is... Chapter 6 

They were pretending. Kakashi knew it. He could see right through it. To almost everyone else, it seemed like Sasuke and Naruto had finally come to terms with each other. But he knew it was just a ploy to get him off their backs.

Their "relationship" was nowhere near friendship. That was obvious to everyone. But they had stopped fighting. They weren't even insulting each other.

Sakura attributed it to the "amazing power of teamwork", but Kakashi wasn't fooled. He could still see the cold looks that passed between them. It was just a scheme to make him stop prying into their past. But it wasn't working. It simply made him more determined to find out what they were both so desperate to hide.

And he had the perfect plan.

Or rather, the potentially perfect plan. The problem would be putting it to action without seeming suspicious. And also, without getting caught, particularly by a particular academy teacher that was incredibly protective of both his present and _past_ students.

And that protectiveness was doubled when Naruto was concerned.

Of course, Kakashi couldn't help but think that his "plan" was rather irresponsible. Especially for a teacher. What person in their right mind would waste so much time figuring out exactly how to get two of his students drunk enough to spill their guts? Two twelve-year-olds, none-the-less!

Oh right. Kakashi wasn't in his right mind. Sadly, no one ever considered even the remotest possibility that Kakashi was _ever_ in his right mind.

But he was determined to find the answers to every one of his questions concerning Sasuke's and Naruto's past. And that determination caused him to throw caution to the wind and make every and any attempt to get the wanted information.

It was like his own little self-appointed mission. A mission he would not- no- could not fail.

It was for the sake of the team. Or, that's what he kept telling himself. But really, it was just to feed his curiosity.

But no one needed to know that.

Sasuke was immediately suspicious of Kakashi's intentions when his sensei invited him over for dinner. The man hadn't so much as _breathed_ a word about his and Naruto's "friendship" for nearly a week. He was hardly likely to believe that the man had just given up on his "quest".

But who was he to refuse a request from his teacher? Especially when he didn't have an excuse not to go. It wasn't like he had dinner plans with his family.

And though he would never admit it to anyone, he did get rather lonely. And he supposed it was better than sitting alone at home and mulling over his own dark thoughts as the emptiness of the house slowly went to his head.

No. It wasn't a social visit. Sasuke accepted the dinner invitation for the sake of his sanity.

Well, that's what he told himself at least.

Kakashi had smiled widely when Sasuke accepted. He had been waiting for the boy to say no, so the muttered "alright" that came instead thrilled him to no end. That was one boy down, one to go. Now he had to go in search of his blonde student.

It really wasn't all that hard to find Naruto when he needed to be found. After all, there were very few places he would be. His apartment, Ichiraku's, the training grounds… yep. That about covered all the places Naruto normally was. The only problem was that he wasn't at any of those places.

Nope. The blonde was nowhere to be found. That, and Kakashi didn't really have the desire or patience to scour the town for his student.

Instead, he settled on prying as much information out of Sasuke as possible. He could interrogate Naruto later. It was probably a better idea not to have the two in the same room together anyways. He didn't want to have to repair his house if he accidentally riled the two back to their former hostility.

With that being decided, the silver-haired man quickly went back to his house to start preparing dinner for Sasuke.

Meanwhile, Naruto was busy raising hell with Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon, completely oblivious to the perilous plot his sensei was putting into play.

**_3 ½ Years Earlier _**

To say Sasuke was impatient would be an understatement. It was his birthday, and he was stuck at home, waiting for Itachi to show up so he could spend the special day with his best friend.

But Itachi was late. He was incredibly late. Over an hour late. Sasuke was both mad and worried as he paced in front of the Uchiha compound. Itachi was never late. Something had to be wrong.

Kicking a rock in frustration, Sasuke flinched when it hit the wall of the house with a loud thud.

"What's the matter?" Sasuke turned around to see an old lady frowning at him, and he smiled at her. She was his great aunt, whatever that meant, and by far she was his favorite relative. With exception of his brother, of course.

"I'm waiting for Itachi-sama." Sasuke told her, pouting slightly. "He's late. He's supposed to take me to see Naru-chan."

The old lady smiled kindly at him. She was the only person Sasuke had ever talked to about Naruto. She had figured it out on her own, but hadn't condemned him for it. And because of that, Sasuke looked up to the old lady.

"It's your birthday today, isn't it?" She asked, coming over and pulling her great-nephew into a hug. "You're nine, right?"

Sasuke nodded, smiling widely.

"Well, why don't you go see Naru-chan, then? You're a big boy now. You know the way to his house, right?"

Sasuke's eye's lit up, and he hugged the old lady tightly. "You're right! I don't have to wait for 'Tachi! If he comes, can you tell him that I already went?"

The old lady smiled. "Of course. You go have fun now, okay?"

"Okay!" And with that, Sasuke was running out of the complex and down the street.

Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha got home with the exciting news that Sasuke was now enrolled at the academy and would start his ninja training the next day. It was to their horror that their youngest son wasn't there. And after questioning many members of their family, it was determined that their pride and joy had gone off without telling anyone.

And they knew exactly where he had gone.

Or rather, exactly who he had gone to.

Fugaku's aunt, an old, frail lady who tended to keep to herself more and more as age took its toll on her, watched in silence as the parents openly panicked.

"Our son is with that _Demon_!!!"

"Damn you, Itachi!!!!"

They were both very surprised when the old woman actually spoke to them.

"Itachi? He hasn't been here. Sasuke was waiting for him, but he didn't show. He apparently had some place to go, so I told him to just go on his own."

Two sets of eyes turned to the feeble old woman. Had she lost her mind? Letting _their_ son wander off by himself? Was she getting senile in her old age!?!

The old lady was unfazed by their piercing glares, and turned to go to her bedroom. She couldn't believe they could act so immature. Couldn't they just be happy that their son was happy? It made her tired. She needed a nap. She just hoped the fools wouldn't do anything to hurt Sasuke or his friend. She was incredibly fond of her great-nephew and the 'Naru-chan' she had heard so much about.

The worried parents finally stopped gawking at the retreating old lady and instead, stared at each other.

"What are we going to do?" Mikoto asked her husband, somewhat timidly. She could see that he was very angry.

"We're going to find him!" His voice was pure venom.

Without another word, they rushed out of the house.

Sasuke and Naruto were sitting happily on the grass in the park. Naruto was thrilled that Sasuke liked the toy shurikan he had given him. He was beaming happily, absolutely glowing when Sasuke had planted a kiss on his cheek. He loved making Sasuke smile.

Sasuke was now chattering away about how he couldn't wait to start his ninja training, and how excited he was.

But amidst the happy talking, a frown suddenly found its way onto Sasuke's face.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, noting the change in his friend's attitude.

He received a pout in return. "I want you to go to the ninja academy too! That way we can train to be ninja's together!"

The blonde smiled. He had thought about that too, and it seemed Sasuke had read his thoughts. "That would be so great! But I can't." He frowned for a moment, but perked up again. "Oh well! You'll have to just learn enough for the both of us."

"Yeah! And then I'll teach you what they teach me!"

"Yeah! You'll be Sasuke-sensei!"

Both boys broke into a fit of giggles and didn't notice the figure approaching.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke jumped up, looking at his mother with wide eyes.

"Mama! I- What are you doing here!?!"

Naruto stared at the woman, holding his breath and suddenly feeling very afraid.

"I came to see you, silly. It's your birthday, remember? Am I not allowed to see you on your birthday?" She put a comforting hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"You mean, you're not mad? You're not mad that I'm with Naru-chan?"

"No, sweety."

Both Sasuke and Naruto broke out into huge, relieved grins. Naruto let out the breath he had been holding.

"Come on. It's time to go home."

Sasuke nodded and gave Naruto a big goodbye hug. "Bye Naru-chan! Thanks for the present!"

Naruto beamed at him. "Bye! Happy Birthday!" He watched his friend slowly walk away with his mother, excitedly showing her the shurikan. He waited until Sasuke was out of site before he got up and turned to go home.

His way was blocked however, by someone far taller than he was. In an instant, both his arms were caught in a crippling grip and he was lifted to the man's eye-level. A small whimper left his throat as he looked into the red eyes of a very pissed off man. A man he only knew as Sasuke's father.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Hey... Sorry it's been so long since I updated, but life's been kind of hectic... but hey, when life gets you down all we can do is find a way to get back up, right? Well, here is my way... a new chapter... **

**Chapter 7**

Sasuke glared at Kakashi. Did the man honestly think Sasuke was that stupid!?

Apparently. The cup of sake in front of him proved that he did.

The man had been trying to weasel information out of him and Naruto for weeks, and Kakashi mysteriously invites him over for dinner and mysteriously ends up being completely awesome by letting him drink. Yeah. Right.

Sasuke definitely wasn't stupid, and he wasn't naïve either. He knew the potential effects of alcohol, having seen several members of his family get completely wasted before. He had seen his aunts and uncles start spilling their guts when they were drunk.

No thank you. He wasn't going to fall for it.

Kakashi frowned when Sasuke shook his head in response to the cup of sake he put in front of him. "None for you?"

"I'm too young." Sasuke replied dryly, giving his sensei the iciest glare he could muster.

"Well, I think it's okay for kids to drink while under the supervision of an adult. You see, if you are introduced to alcohol earlier rather than later, you wont feel the need to drink yourself half to death when you finally can drink. So don't worry about getting in trouble."

Sasuke still shook his head. "No thanks."

"Okay." Kakashi frowned. Damnit all! His carefully wrought out plans were falling apart. Okay. So maybe they weren't carefully thought out, but they were thought out to an extent! Now what the hell was he supposed to due? It wasn't like he could torture Sasuke for information.

Or could he?

NO! He shook his head at the thought. Sasuke was his student. He couldn't resort to drastic interrogation measures unless the village was in danger.

Hmmm… that was a thought. Could the information Sasuke and Naruto were hiding in any way harm the village? He'd have to actually think about that one. It would be really hard to justify the torture of two of his students to the Hokage.

Sasuke watched in silence as Kakashi had a very obvious mental debate with himself. He would have found it amusing, if he wasn't so damned annoyed. Oh well. He'd always known Kakashi was a bit whacked.

* * *

Iruka couldn't believe Naruto could eat so much and not be as big as a freakin house! Seriously! The kid had already put away six bowls of ramen and was halfway through his seventh! Oh well. He suspected that it wasn't Naruto's fault he had such a big appetite.

While Naruto was slurping away, he was telling Iruka all about his training and how boring his missions were- except for protecting the bridge-builder of course. Iruka listened intently. He was pretty bored, but he would never tell Naruto that. He cared about the kid too much.

Naruto had just started his eighth bowl when Sasuke came up to him.

"Hey dobe."

Naruto glared at him, though the effect was lost due to the noodle hanging out of his mouth.

"What the hell do you want teme!?!?!"

Iruka sighed at the name calling. Some things would never change.

"I have to tell you something." Sasuke nodded for Naruto to follow.

Naruto stared at him suspiciously for a minute. "I'll be right back, Iruka-sensei."

"Alright Naruto."

Naruto followed Sasuke out of Ichiraku's. "What the hell is so important?"

"Kakashi's getting desperate. Don't let him get you drunk."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Why the hell should I worry? I'm a twelve-year-old kid. Why the hell would he want me?"

Sasuke stared at him. "Not that, you idiot!!! He wants to get us drunk so we'll talk to him! He tried to get me drunk tonight."

"Oh!" Naruto's face lit up with the sudden understanding. "Are you sure he just didn't want a piece of your fine ass? Every girl in Konoha wants you, so why not a few guys too? I've had my suspicions about his sexuality since the day I met him."

"You're such a loser." Sasuke turned to walk away. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Whatever teme!"

* * *

Kakashi watched the exchange with interest. There. His theory was proved. They were purposely working together to hide their past. How sly. How diabolical. How ABSOLUTELY INFURIATING!!!!!!!!

Oh well. Kakashi wasn't a Jounin for nothing. He was their teacher for crying out loud! He could outsmart them!

He'd think of a way.

Hmmm… Maybe this Iruka would be the key. He seemed very close to Naruto. Maybe Kakashi could go interrogate him for information.

Yes. That was a good plan. He only had to get him alone.

Oh. One more thing. He absolutely _had_ to have a talk with Naruto. Where did the blonde get the idea that he was gay! And gay for Sasuke, none-the-less!! Seriously, Naruto's intuition was _waaaay_ off. Kakashi knew a gay man when he saw one, and there was no way he was gay.

**_

* * *

_**

3 ½ Years Earlier 

Itachi knew he was running very late, and he was pissed at himself for it. He was _never_ late. Never. Out of all the missions he had ever been on, he had never missed a deadline.

But here he was, late to pick up his little brother on his birthday. Wasn't life ironic sometimes?

And he was really late. He couldn't believe he had let himself get so worked up over his stupid father.

He was at the Uchiha compound, but he stopped at the gate. He wasn't allowed inside, and he was sure that every single one of his family members knew that. It would only be trouble to go in.

He was surprised, however, that Sasuke wasn't waiting for him. He imagined that his little brother would be impatiently stomping his feet, throwing a tantrum that he would later deny, and giving him a dirty look that would make any Uchiha proud.

But he wasn't there. It was the second thing to add to the day's list of odd occurrences.

Itachi was late Sasuke wasn't there throwing a fit about it. 

"Tachi!" Itachi turned to see Sasuke break away from their mother and come running up to him. "Why were you late!?"

Itachi held his mother's glare for a moment before looking down at the glare he knew he would see. "I'm sorry. I was held up. Happy Birthday." He handed Sasuke a little wrapped gift and noticed that his brother was holding the play shuriken Naruto had picked out for him.

"Guess what! Mom found me and Naruto in the park, and she wasn't mad!" Sasuke said, happily opening the present Sasuke had just given him. "Wow! It's a Hitai-ate! But…" His brow wrinkled in confusion. "It's not a leaf village one!"

"It's the Hitai-ate I brought home after my first successful A-rank mission. Since you're starting at the academy tomorrow, I thought it might bring you good luck."

"Wow!" Sasuke hugged him tightly. Itachi only half-heartedly returned the hug. He was busy studying his mothers face. She was still glaring, but there was a smugness about her.

"Listen, Sasuke, I have to go. I'll see you soon."

"Alright! Bye Aniki!"

Itachi gave his brother a small smile and was gone in a flash.

Naruto tried to run away again, but couldn't even take a step before a fist was slammed roughly into his stomach. He gasped in pain as the wind was knocked out of him. He doubled over, spitting blood out of his mouth. The same fist came crashing into his jaw, knocking him to the ground, and this time he spit out a tooth.

"I told you to stay the FUCK away from my son, you monster!!! He doesn't need to be weighed down by you his whole life!"

Naruto whimpered and tried to crawl away, but was kicked harshly in the ribs. His arms were kicked out from under him and a foot pressed into his back, pushing him heavily into the dirt.

He couldn't breath.

"Someone should have done this a long time ago!"

The foot pressed down harder, and Naruto struggled uselessly to get out from under it. His lungs were burning from lack of oxygen.

Just when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, the pressure was gone. He rolled over onto his side, coughing and breathing in the much needed air.

Itachi stood in front of him, his back to him. He was facing his father, who looked even more livid than before.

"Get the fuck out of my way, Itachi!"

"Leave him alone!"

"He doesn't deserve to live!"

"He has more right than you!"

Fugaku didn't respond. He threw himself at Itachi, pulling a kunai out faster than Naruto could see. Itachi matched his movements, easily blocking the man's attack.

"Get out of my way, boy! Someone needs to put that thing out of its misery!"

"Maybe I need to put _you_ out of his misery!"

"Is that a threat!?"

"No. It's a promise."

At that, Fugaku laughed. "You really think you could best me boy? You're nothing but a cheap imitation of my powers."

Itachi was seething. "I could kill you and the entire clan without a second thought."

Fugaku stopped laughing, and instead turned away. "You are no longer a part of my family. You stay away from Sasuke. If you want to hang around with this worthless piece of trash, go ahead, but you won't drag my son down with you." Then, he was gone.

Itachi stood there, glaring after the man he was ashamed to have as a father. He turned to look at Naruto, who hadn't moved from where he lay on the ground. Itachi kneeled down beside him and pulled him into a sitting position, inspecting him for serious injuries.

"Come on. I'll take you home."

Naruto nodded mutely and pushed himself to his feet, wincing.

"Itachi-sama?"

"Yes?"

"When you said you'd kill the whole clan, you didn't mean Sasuke, right?"


	9. Chapter Eight

**Hey again…. Okay, so I know it's been forever since I've updated… I think someone said it's been three months… I'm sorry to keep everyone waiting… I've just been so busy, and the little time I have had to write I've been so lost as to what to write about… but here's the new chapter, and I'm working on the next one right now… If everything goes according to plan, I'll update it really soon… I hope no one's too mad at me… Enjoy! **

**Chapter Eight**

"I really don't know what you're talking about, Kakashi." Iruka told the Jounin for the umpteenth time. "Naruto and Sasuke have hated each since the moment they both set foot in the academy. I don't know where you got this crazy idea that they used to be friends."

Kakashi frowned. "I got the idea from a man who _used_ to be Naruto's foster father.

At that, a dark look passed over Iruka's face. "That man treated Naruto terribly. He was a drunk and a bastard, and you shouldn't believe a word he says."

Kakashi frowned. "What did he do to Naruto?"

"Why are you bugging _ME_ about it!?! Why don't you just ask Naruto!"

Kakashi sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I did. He wont tell me."

Iruka glared at the silver-haired man. "Then he obviously doesn't want to talk about it. And just so you know, it's kind of fucked up sneaking around behind his back to find out. For the record, I don't know what happened at the foster home. Naruto never talks about it."

Kakashi flinched at the harsh language coming from the normally pliant chunin. He knew he had made Iruka mad.

Damnit! That had been his last idea. Now he needed to get creative. He hated being creative.

Iruka watched Kakashi wonder off, once again lost in his own thoughts.

'Maybe I should tell Naruto that Kakashi is snooping around.' He thought. Then he shook his head. 'If Kakashi already asked him strait out, then Naruto probably already knows.'

Meanwhile, Kakashi had suddenly stopped dead and was mentally kicking himself. There were so many other questions he could have asked Iruka that might have given him some clue as to what was going on between Naruto and Sasuke.

He was also intrigued by Naruto's secrecy. Iruka was the person closest to Naruto. If there were secrets that even Iruka didn't know, they must have been some big secrets indeed.

'Damn you curiosity!!' Kakashi inwardly cursed. 'I'm already pushed to the limit without having to figure out _another_ mystery.'

Sighing, Kakashi stuck his hands in his pocket and strolled down the road.

* * *

"What are we gonna do about Kakashi?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"Teach him to mind his own fucking business!" Naruto replied venomously.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "And exactly how are we supposed to do that? It's not like we can beat it into him."

The two boys were sitting at Sasuke's kitchen table. After Iruka had mentioned to Naruto that Kakashi was poking around, Naruto had taken it upon himself to seek out Sasuke so they could work together for a mutual benefit.

"We could blackmail him." Naruto halfheartedly suggested.

"With what?"

"I don't know. We'll make something up."

"That's a stupid idea, even for you."

"Well I don't see you coming up with anything better." Naruto crossed his arms. "There has to be something we could think of."

"What if we lied to him? Told him what he wanted to know, but not the real story?"

"And he wouldn't be at all suspicious that we suddenly broke down and told him what he's been trying to find out. Who has the stupid idea now?"

"It's better than blackmailing him with information we DON'T have." Sasuke spat back.

"So instead of lying about him, we'll lie about ourselves?"

"I don't know! But he's starting to find out a lot, and I want to know where he's finding it out! It's not like he could just ask my brother about me when I was little!"

Naruto looked down at the table. "I know."

"What?"

"I know how he's been finding out."

"What! And why haven't you mentioned this before! Who is he talking to? We could go to the source and stop it there!"

"Be my guest, but I'm not going anywhere near the man." Naruto glared. "He buddied up with my old foster father."

Sasuke didn't answer. He had only ever met that man a few times. Maybe four times, at the most. He didn't even know his name. He glanced at Naruto and noticed that the blonde was fidgeting with his sleeve. He looked somewhat nervous.

Naruto shifted uncomfortably under Sasuke's gaze, and jumped a little when he spoke.

"Okay. Then what else could we do?"

Naruto was so relieved that Sasuke had changed the subject that he actually smiled at him. "I still think we should blackmail him."

"That won't work!"

"Sure it would! We'll make up a crazy story about how that crazy looking guy in the green leotard is a lot more than Kakashi's 'friend'."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

* * *

_**3 ½ Years Earlier**_

Naruto sat alone in the park. It had been Sasuke's first day at the ninja academy, and although Naruto was happy for him, he was also very lonely. It was late in the evening, and Naruto was pretty sure that Sasuke was probably home. But he knew he wouldn't be seeing him that day.

Sasuke wasn't allowed to see Itachi, which meant he wasn't allowed to see Naruto either. And Naruto didn't think Sasuke even knew that. He was also aware that something felt very wrong. His stomach kept fluttering, and he was very nervous for some reason.

Sir had been very curious as to why he had come home all dirty and beat up the previous day. Naruto hadn't told him, but the man had seemed very happy anyways.

Now, he was dreading going back to the foster home more than ever.

There were a lot of people out that day. Everywhere, people were gathering together, whispering to each other. Naruto also saw a lot of ninja's out. They kept passing by, as if they were looking for someone. He even saw some of the ANBU pass by.

He knew about the ANBU because of what Itachi had told him. They were the best of the best, and they were only put on very important missions.

So that meant that something really important was happening.

It was starting to get a little dark outside, so Naruto headed back to the foster home, feeling more down than he had felt since the day he had met Sasuke. He knew deep down in his bones that something was very wrong.

And he was proved right the moment he walked in the door.

Sir was there, and he was smiling. Naruto never liked Sir's smile. He always looked like a monster when he smiled.

"Well, look who just walked in like he owns the place."

Naruto didn't answer. Instead, he tried to turn around and run.

But Sir caught his arm and pulled him back inside the house.

"Not so tough without the crazy Uchiha to defend you, are you?" He slammed Naruto hard against the wall. "I knew he had to be crazy, to want anything to do with a beast like you, but now it's proved."

Naruto started crying. He was scared, and he was confused.

Sir laughed when the blond started crying. "Gotten used to the easy life, have you? Well, that's all over now!"

Naruto yelped when the man's fist crashed into his face, and he tried to push away from him.

"Going somewhere?" Sir laughed again and threw the blond down the hallway, sending him smashing into a bookshelf. Naruto tried to get up and run, but he was thrown down again. Sir started kicking him as hard as he could, and Naruto curled into a ball, covering his head with his arms. He was sobbing harder now.

Suddenly, he was pulled to his feet by his hair and punched in the stomach. Naruto dropped down to his knees. He could hear Sir laughing above him, and he latched onto the man's leg and bit him as hard as he could.

"You little fucker!!!" Sir kicked him hard in the head and knelt over him, grabbing his hair again and slamming his head on the floor. "Bite me again and see what happens!!"

"Stop!" A voice suddenly rang out. "You're going to kill him!"

Sir stopped and looked down at the unmoving blonde, then glared up at the kid who had just yelled at him. He dropped Naruto and stood up, carelessly stepping over him and slamming the other kid into the wall as he went down the hallway and into the kitchen.

The other kid rushed over to Naruto.

"Don't be dead." This kid was new to the foster home, and at that moment he was more scared than he had ever been.

Naruto yelled when the kid shook him and pushed himself to his feet. He was extremely dizzy and in more pain than he had ever been in.

"Don't move! There's a lot of blood!"

Naruto didn't respond. Instead, he felt his way back down the hall and stumbled out the front door. The kid watched helplessly as the blonde disappeared into the dusk.

It was like going back in time, as people ignored the pitiful bleeding blonde boy that went stumbling past. A few people noticed, simply wondering what had caused the severe beating after so long, but no one worried, and no one offered to help.

It was just like that day, over four years before, when Naruto had run to the park. But there was no dark haired teenager sitting on the bench, and there was no Sasuke to lend his 'Tachi.

Naruto crawled under the slide, trembling and still crying, trying to make sense of everything. But he couldn't.

"Naruto."

Suddenly, comfort filled the blonde, and he scrambled out from under the slide towards the familiar voice.

There was Itachi, but something was different about him. Naruto noticed immediately.

His eyes. They were different. There was no comforting half-smile, and he didn't reach out to comfort the beaten boy.

"T-Tachi?" Naruto asked quietly. Something was wrong. "What happened?"

Itachi remained silent. Naruto noticed then, he was covered in blood.

"Go to Sasuke." Itachi said quietly. "Nothing will get between you, and he needs you."

Then, he was gone, leaving Naruto alone, crying and terrified. Without a second thought, he took off at a run towards the Uchiha compound.


	10. ADOPTION NOTICE

ADOPTION NOTICE

ADOPTION NOTICE

To all my readers… I know it has been forever since I updated this fic… I have multiple reasons for this… mostly being that I have been busy out of my mind… I went out of town for a long time, and the computer has been down quite often in the past few months… if fact, it has been so long that I don't even remember my plans for finishing this story… so unfortunately… I will not be finishing this story…

Therefore, I am putting the story up for adoption… any fellow writer who would like to finish is the story is welcome to do so… they can post the story on their own ff account or whatever so long as a little mention is given to me… if anyone is interested, message me and let me know…

I'm sorry I can't finish it, but I think it would be better if an enthusiastic someone could finish it rather than try to force myself to finish without any real desire to do so…

Thank you to all my readers… it really does make a person feel good to have their work read and liked…

Hopefully, when my schedule loosens up again and if my computer will continue to cooperate with me I will be able to write another fic sometime… and who knows… I may eventually finish this story… but until then, it is officially up for adoption…


	11. Chapter Nine

AN: So, I know it's been over a year since I updated anything, for which I'm very sorry… Haven't had internet, and the times I was able to use someone elses internet were solely dedicated to the massive amounts of homework I had… I know I said I wasn't going to work on this story any more, but when summer break came around I found myself bored out of my mind… there's only so much you can do on a computer with no internet, and solitaire gets really old really fast… anyway I worked on this story as well as second impressions, and I have internet again at last! I'm leaving the stone age! Unfortunately it is only a temporary fix, but I'll try my best to get as much done as possible… okay… so without further adieu

**Chapter Nine**

Kakashi was almost panicked. Almost being the keyword. He couldn't find Naruto anywhere. While normally, that wouldn't be reason enough to panic, there was reason this time. He couldn't find Sasuke either.

Okay, so it was normal for him to not be able to find Sasuke. The kid was a loner, and often retreated to the Uchiha compound on his own. But Naruto was nowhere! He wasn't at his apartment, he wasn't with Iruka, he wasn't at Ichiraku's, and he wasn't training. And this time, Kakashi actually took the time to search the town for the blonde. He wasn't anywhere!

There was one place that Kakashi hadn't checked, because there hadn't been a reason to when he passed it. That place was the Uchiha compound.

But now that he had scoured the town, he was sure that Naruto was there. And it only meant one thing. They were conspiring against him!

Worse! They were spending extra time together to do so! Those two would never, in a million years voluntarily spend extra time together.

Kakashi was livid. They were doing it on purpose, and whatever they were hiding was enough to make them work together—for once. Damn them!

The Jounin was also torn about what to do about them. Should he confront them? That was just a little bit of a problem, because he couldn't very well go charging into the Uchiha compound. At the moment, he was perched in a tree looking down at the compound.

The door opened, and Naruto came out. THERE! His theories were proved true! Sasuke stepped outside with the blonde.

"Okay. We'll get together again in a few days. Hopefully, we'll be able to think of something better." Came Sasuke's scathing voice.

"Yeah." Naruto agreed. "But remember, no one needs to know."

"Hn. Like I would tell anyone."

Kakashi took that opportunity to jump down from the tree and land beside his two students. "Tell anyone what?"

Both boys jumped.

"Are you spying on us!" Naruto yelled at his sensei.

"Not at all." Kakashi replied. "I'm simply interested in the lives of my students and secret meetings two of them are having that they don't want anyone to know about."

"It's not your business." Sasuke said coldly. "But if you must know, me and Naruto have been trying to work out our differences for the good of the team."

"Yeah." Naruto agreed, crossing his arms and glaring at the Jounin.

"Really? And why is that such a big secret?"

"Because! I don't want anyone to know that I'm getting along with him!" Naruto pointed at Sasuke. "I'm gonna go. I'm hungry." The blonde took off, leaving Kakashi and Sasuke there staring at each other.

"So, you two are really starting to get along." Kakashi smiled. "Before you know it, you two will be the best of friends!"

"Not likely." With that, Sasuke went back into the house and shut the door.

Kakashi scratched his head. Oh! They were good! They were making it look like he was just some paranoid loser who thought the world was conspiring against him. This was going to make it really hard for progress.

Wait! He was a paranoid loser! He was convinced that his students were conspiring against him to make him look like a paranoid loser!

No! They were conspiring against him, and it just so happened that they were managing to make him look like a paranoid loser. It was just luck on their part.

Kakashi laughed to himself. Well, their luck was about to change, because they were no match for his superior intelligence. By the end of it, they'd want to tell him everything just to stop the humiliation!

But, there was still one small problem. He didn't have a plan. Damnit. He'd have to get creative. He'd still been trying to avoid that.

_**

* * *

**_

_**3 ½ years earlier**_

The Uchiha compound was overrun. Countless ninja were flitting around, and amidst the chaos, Naruto was completely ignored.

He looked around desperately for Sasuke, not seeing him anywhere. In fact, he didn't see any of the Uchihas.

Naruto's panic was growing as he was pushed aside by much more important people, and he was close to tears when he finally caught sight of Sasuke.

The boy was standing alone, completely unmoving. His pale face was paler than it should have been, and he was shaking violently. He didn't notice when Naruto approached him.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke didn't answer. His eyes were completely unfocused, a look of horror on his face.

"Sasuke?" Naruto stepped closer, swallowing down his fear. "Sasuke? What happened."

Finally, Sasuke glanced at him, but still didn't seem to see him. When he spoke, his voice was distant.

"He killed them. He killed them all."

Naruto was confused. "Who? Who killed who? Sasuke?"

"Itachi…. He killed everyone… My mom… My Dad… My Great Aunt…." Sasuke fell silent again.

"What! No! He couldn't have!" Naruto suddenly felt sick. He had heard Itachi threaten his father only the day before. He had threatened to kill the whole family. And he had promised Naruto he wouldn't kill Sasuke.

"He killed everyone…." Sasuke's eyes suddenly focused on the blonde. "He said he did it so I could be with you…" There was another moment of silence.

Then, Sasuke shoved Naruto. "This is your fault."

Naruto remained silent. He had been thinking the same thing not two seconds before.

Sasuke shoved Naruto again, harder this time. "If it weren't for you, I would still have my family! I would still have my 'Tachi!"

Naruto took a step back, but Sasuke was after him again, pushing him hard enough to knock him to the ground.

"I hate you!"

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut as the words sunk in and tears came to his eyes.

"I hate you!" Sasuke was getting louder, and some people were stopping to watch the scene. "I hate you! I never want to see you again!"

Naruto slowly stood up, staring at the ground and wincing at every word Sasuke shouted.

"I hate you and I wish we had never met! I wish we were never friends! And I wish you were DEAD! Go away! I HATE YOU!"

Naruto didn't have to be told again. He turned and left, careful not to look up at anyone he passed.

It was all his fault. He knew Sasuke was right. He had been there when Itachi said he was gonna do it.

And now Sasuke was all alone.

Naruto had never felt worse. All the beatings, all the abuse didn't even come close.

He had made Sasuke miserable.

"_I wish you were dead!_"

Naruto sniffed, wiping the tears off his face. There was one thing he could do to make it a little better. He couldn't change the past, but he could grant Sasuke's wish.

Hopefully, that would make Sasuke happy.

Naruto shivered as he made his way back to the foster home, trying not to think about how painful it would be to die.

He wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to die, either, but he had a plan.

Sir had once threatened to kill him if he ever talked back to him again. It had been a long time since then, but Naruto had learned plenty of knew, colorful words since then.

He didn't think it would be that hard.

"Aren't you dead yet!" Sir asked aggressively when Naruto found him sitting at the kitchen table.

Naruto was silent for a minute, fighting down his fear. Then, he took a deep breath and said "Shut the fuck up! Asshole!"

It took only a second for Sir to slam him hard against the wall.

"What did you just say to me, you little cocksucker!"


	12. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

Kakashi had to admit that his plan was neither creative, nor brilliant, but it was the best he could come up with on short notice. And he wasn't entirely sure that it was a good idea.

He had decided that he would take his team to dinner. That part was fine.

What wasn't fine was that he was currently leading Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to a dingy bar. He was sure he could get into a lot of trouble.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked nervously. It was getting late, and she wasn't exactly used to Konoha's night crowd.

"We're going to meet up with someone." Kakashi said evasively.

Naruto was being unusually silent. He didn't like drunks, and they were going to the part of town that was home to the many bars that were overflowing with drunks every night of the week, especially on Saturday. He was getting a really bad feeling.

Sasuke really didn't care what was happening. He had the nagging suspicion that this was one of Kakashi's plans, although what he could possibly achieve by whatever it was he was trying to pull was far beyond Sasuke's comprehension of the man.

They ended up in a small, quiet bar that was surprisingly uncrowded. A few people sat in booths around the place, and another handful sat around the bar, occasionally ordering more drinks.

Naruto felt the dread drop into his stomach like a bomb when Kakashi led the way up to an already occupied table.

"Kakashi! Long time no see!" Shiroi slurred, taking a long drink of sake. "And I see you brought the crew!"

Kakashi forced a smile, and ushered Sakura into the seat next to him, leaving the seat to his right for Sasuke, and forcing Naruto to take the seat between Sasuke and Shiroi.

The blonde sat down stiffly, looking anywhere but at the smelly man on his right.

"Hey, Naru-chan! How's it goin?" Shiroi leaned over and leered at the boy, laughing when Naruto tensed and discreetly moved closer to Sasuke.

Sasuke was glaring at the man, and at Kakashi, who was watching Naruto closely.

Shiroi stared intently at Naruto, who was still looking everywhere else. He grew impatient with Naruto's silence.

"Boy! I asked you a question!" He slammed his cup down on the table.

Naruto jumped. "It's going okay." He responded quietly, inching away from the man until his chair was pressed against Sasukes.

Shiroi laughed, and turned his attention to Sasuke. "You still looking out for this little shithead?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, and chose not to answer the man, instead turning his glare back to Kakashi in full force.

Kakashi was already starting to regret bringing the kids there. He had been hoping to corner them into admitting that they had been friends, and maybe open the door for explaining their past, but if anything, this was only making it worse.

Sakura was watching the whole scene with interest. She had no idea who this man was, why Naruto was so obviously afraid of him, and she definitely had no idea what the heck was going on.

Shiroi downed the last of his drink, and reached for the bottle, only to discover it was empty. He frowned, and shoved the empty bottle towards Naruto.

"Go fill it up!"

Naruto immediately jumped up, clutching the empty bottle. "Yes sir." He made his way to the bar, ignoring the shocked looks both his teammates gave him.

"Worthless piece of crap." Shiroi went on, loudly enough that Naruto could hear him as he stood at the bar and waited for the bartender.

"He never was good for much of anything." Shiroi went on. "He was loud, and obnoxious, and a complete idiot! He had quite the mouth too."

Naruto was fidgeting nervously as the bartender raised an eyebrow at him, but filled the bottle none-the-less.

"And believe me! I tried to beat it out of him! But nothing worked! He's a completely useless piece of shit!" He started laughing.

Naruto hesitantly turned back toward the table, and froze at what Shiroi said next.

"That's not true. There was only one thing he was good for!" The man was laughing harder.

Naruto took a step back away from the table, hoping against hope that the man would choke, or pass out, or drop dead. Anything to keep him from saying what he was about to say.

"He was good for a rough fuck!" Shiroi was absolutely howling with laughter at this point.

Everyone else in the bar was silent, either looking at the man responsible for the drunken confession, or at the blonde who was frozen in horror. Kakashi was in shock. He had definitely not been expecting that. At all.

Naruto was out the door before the bottle he had been holding smashed on the floor.

The sound of breaking glass seemed to spur everyone into motion.

Sasuke launched himself over the table, knocking the man out of the chair. Kakashi just barely managed to grab Sasuke's arm and keep him from driving a kunai through the man's throat.

Sakura was screaming something about how sick the man was, and she wasn't the only one urging Kakashi to let Sasuke take care of the 'sick bastard.'

And Sasuke was putting up one hell of a fight to do just that.

"This is not the solution!" Kakashi firmly pulled Sasuke away from the drunk who was no longer laughing.

"Let me go!" Sasuke fought as hard as he could to get at the man.

"Listen to me! I need you to go find Naruto. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." Kakashi ordered.

Reluctantly, Sasuke stopped fighting, and a few seconds later he burst out of the bar in search of Naruto.

Kakashi, after making sure that Sasuke was indeed out of the way, turned his glare to the man who was still lying on the floor where Sasuke had tackled him.

In a flash, Kakashi had him by the collar of his shirt and was dragging him out of the bar. Sakura followed unsurely.

"Let me go!" Shiroi shouted indignantly. "Get yer hands off me!"

"You're a sick bastard." Kakashi didn't stop when the man tripped over his own feet, just kept dragging him along. "He was what? Eight? Nine years old? We're going to see the hokage, right now. Need I remind you that he is rather fond of the boy you just admitted to molesting. And I promise you, if he doesn't make sure you get punished, then I will, and I can make sure they'll never find your body."

Shiroi gulped, and Kakashi led the way to the hokage's house where the hokage was not pleased to be woken up, and where he was nothing short of murderous over the reason for the late night call.

_**

* * *

**_

_**3 ½ years earlier**_

Naruto had expected it to hurt, but not this bad.

Sir was hitting him, and kicking him, and he couldn't breath.

He was coughing up blood, a lot of it, and still Sir didn't stop. He was lying on the ground, and he couldn't move. Sir stomped hard on him, and he felt something crack, causing an unbearable wave of pain to rush through his body.

Then, Sir grabbed his hair and dragged him out of the kitchen, and out of the house, to the tool shed in the back yard. He threw the blonde roughly in, and closed the door.

"Not so cocky now, are you?" Sir growled.

Naruto didn't answer. He just wanted it to be over. Sir swiftly undid his belt and dragged the boy to his feet long enough to drop his pants to his ankles then pushed him back down on his stomach.

Naruto started to scream when the man slapped the belt harshly against the bear skin on his bottom, but the large hand quickly stifled the sound. He was forced to remain silent as he was beat until the burning stopped and everything went numb.

Finally, Sir let the belt drop to the ground, and Naruto was relieved for a moment, ignoring the man behind him until his hips were jerked into the air.

Then, he felt as if he was being torn in half, and it was undoubtedly the worst pain he had ever felt.

Once again, his screams were stifled, and he had only the vaguest idea what Sir was doing to him. All he knew was that it hurt in the filthiest, dirtiest way imaginable.

And the pain only got worse as Sir pounded into him, harder and harder until all at once it was over, and he felt a burning explosion of heat inside him.

Sir stood up, carelessly kicking the boy out of the way as he zipped up his pants and put his belt back on. Before he left, he spit on the blonde.

"Remember this. It's the only thing you'll ever be good for."

Then, he was gone, leaving Naruto alone and bleeding in the dark.

Naruto finally got the strength to move a few hours later. He pulled up his pants, trying to ignore the puddle of blood that had become sticky around him. He tried to ignore the pain every movement caused, and he tried to ignore the fresh blood that was still oozing steadily down his legs.

He passed out once on his way out of the shed. When he came to again, he left the foster home as fast as he could.

He felt so dirty, and he wasn't quite sure why.

What he did know, though, was that he was still alive. And that meant he was a complete and total failure.

Deciding that he couldn't give up, Naruto slowly wandered the city, looking for anything that could help him do what he needed to do.

At this point, Kyuubi suddenly made his way into the boys mind. He was down right frantic. Naruto ignored him when he said that this wasn't the right answer. Naruto knew it was the only answer. He just had to find it.

That answer came outside of a bar.

Now, Naruto didn't know that at two in the morning the bars closed. He didn't know that the ninja he was currently looking at was completely wasted. He did know that said ninja was an expert on killing, and therefore knew exactly how Naruto needed to die.

"What they hell do you want?" The man asked unsteadily when Naruto pulled on his sleeve.

"I need to die." He told the man. "But I don't know how. I need help."

The man snorted, barely glancing at the kid. He didn't look like he was going to respond, but a second later he handed Naruto a little pouch.

"These should do the trick kid. Very strong poison."

Naruto took the pouch from the man, and decided to ask another question before the man stumbled away.

"Will it hurt this time?"

He look down at the kid, seeming to try to grasp the seriousness of what was happening and giving up. "Probably. I can't imaging it'd feel pleasant."

Naruto nodded, and emptied the pouch into his mouth, swallowing despite the bitter taste.

This seemed to make the man sober up a little, because he suddenly looked horrified.

"What they hell do you think you're doing!"

Naruto winced when he yelled, and slowly backed away.

"You can't just eat that stuff! It'll kill you!" The guy was going into full blown panic mode.

"I want it to kill me." Naruto said pointedly, putting more distance between him and the man.

All at once, he suddenly felt hot. Very hot. He was burning on the inside. He yelled loudly, and fell to his knees.

In a split second, the man had picked him up and was dashing over the rooftops. Naruto screamed and yelled, and kicked and cried, but the man still didn't put him down. He didn't stop running until they were at the hospital.


	13. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter 11**

Sasuke had a hell of a time catching up with Naruto. He had no clue the blond could move that fast if he really wanted to.

Naruto didn't seem to know that Sasuke was tailing him, and was running blindly as far as he could and as fast as he could. They were far outside the outskirts of town by the time Sasuke finally tackled him to the ground.

"Get off!" Naruto was screaming, thrashing his fist as hard as he could. He caught Sasuke in the jaw, and managed to get up and start running again.

He'd only gotten a few paces when he got tackled again.

"Dobe! Stop fighting!" Sasuke yelled as he got another frantic fist in the face.

"Get off me!"

It took Sasuke a minute to pin Naruto's arms down, and finally he stopped moving with his face pressed in the dirt.

There was a long silence, filled only by Naruto's choking sobs. Sasuke slowly stood up, tensed and ready for the trembling boy to make another dash.

He didn't. Instead he laid face down, gasping for breath. Sasuke looked around at the darkened forest, for someone—anyone to help. No one was there. He took a deep breath and kneeled down next to Naruto, gently rolling him over.

Naruto kept his eyes closed, refusing to look at Sasuke after what had just been revealed. He had never been more ashamed in his life. He was crying so hard he could hardly breath.

Sasuke was at a complete loss. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? Slowly he reached his hand down and wiped some of the dirt off of Naruto's face. Blue eyes snapped open, and his hand was batted away.

"Don't touch me!" Naruto scrambled to his feet, putting a few feet between him and Sasuke. His heart was pounding so hard it resonated through his whole body. He could barely catch his breath to talk at all. "What do you want?" He choked, gasping hard, and suddenly he turned to the side and vomited.

Sasuke had to look away. He had never seen Naruto like this. Never.

By this point, Kakashi had shown up, silently taking up residence in a nearby tree. He had handed Shiroi off to the proper authorities, and had made sure that Sakura got home. He had also made sure she had promised not to repeat Shiroi's confession to anyone.

Kakashi was horribly ashamed. All the warning signs had been there, and what had he done? He had forced Naruto into the worst situation imaginable with the sick bastard who had molested him as a child. And that information had been joyfully shouted out for a room full of people to hear. He felt like a capital douche.

Sasuke scratched his arm nervously, watching Naruto back up to the nearest tree and try to slow his breathing. "I'm sorry, Naruto. If I'd have known-"

"If you'd have known? What the hell would you have done? Stop wishing me dead?" Naruto was trembling worse than ever.

Sasuke flinched, looking down at his feet. "Why didn't you ever tell me? Why didn't you tell Itachi?"

This caught Kakashi in the stomach more effectively than a plate of bad fish. Of course! How could he have missed the whole mess with Itachi?

Naruto was shaking his head. "It-it happened after Itachi… did what he did."

Sasuke was trembling now. "After Itachi…" He let the sentence trail off. "He started hurting you again? I don't understand. He'd never done _that_ before, had he?"

Naruto violently shook his head. "It wasn't until that night. After I saw you, when you said…. He'd told me before that he'd kill me if I ever talked back to him. So, I cussed him out. But he didn't kill me."

Sasuke was shaking even more. "You tried to kill yourself? Because I wanted you dead?" He quickly choked down a sob of his own. "Oh Naruto…"

Naruto sank down to the ground, drawing his knees to his chest and burying his face in his arms.

Sasuke slowly walked up to him, and dropped to the ground next to him. "I never really wanted you dead… I didn't really hate you… It wasn't your fault… I… I just needed to blame somebody." He cautiously put his arm around Naruto's shaking shoulders.

Naruto tensed, but didn't push away. He slowly looked up at Sasuke, and gulped over the new wave of fear that engulfed him. "That's the thing… It was my fault." His voice was hoarse.

Sasuke started to say something, but Naruto cut him off. "On your birthday, after your mom came and took you home…" Naruto hesitated. "Your dad showed up. He… He wasn't happy that we had been together."

Sasuke had stiffened up, his eyes wide as he realized what Naruto was saying.

"Itachi showed up just in time. And he fought with your dad. Your dad threatened him and said that Itachi wasn't his son anymore, and Itachi threatened him. He said if Itachi ever came near you again, he'd kill him." Naruto took another deep breath. "Itachi told him that he could kill the entire clan if he wanted to."

Sasuke was shaking his head. "Itachi was always mad because my parents didn't respect him. That just pushed him more over the edge."

Naruto sniffed. "After your father left, I was scared. I asked him if by the entire clan he meant you too."

Sasuke squeezed Naruto a little tighter. "There's absolutely nothing you could have done, Naruto."

Up in his tree, Kakashi was almost forgetting to breathe, he was so enthralled.

Naruto tried to shrug Sasuke's arm off his shoulder. "There's more."

Sasuke tensed a little more. "What do you mean?"

"I saw Itachi after it happened."

Sasuke didn't say anything, waiting for Naruto to continue.

"Sir had beaten the crap out of me the minute he'd found out Itachi wouldn't be around to protect me anymore, and I was hiding in the park. Itachi didn't even notice. He was really out of it. All he said was that you needed me and that nothing was going to get between us anymore."

Sasuke was crying silently now. He stood up, angrily wiping his eyes. Naruto watched him nervously.

"It wasn't your fault." Sasuke finally said. "I didn't know you would take me so seriously. When I told you I hated you, I was terrified, I was angry, and I didn't know what else to do." He kneeled in front of the blond, gently wiping the tears and dirt away from his face. "After I settled down a little, I was waiting for you to come back. When you didn't, I went looking for you at the foster home. I got the door slammed in my face. I didn't know where you went, and I thought you abandoned me."

Naruto covered Sasuke's hand with his own. "I thought you wanted me to leave. I got taken out of the foster home because I kept trying to kill myself. I stopped, eventually, and I was afraid you would hate me more because I hadn't done it. Eventually I got mad, because I couldn't do it, and I got mad at you for wanting me to, and I tried to hate you. But I never could. I tried so hard to hate you." More tears leaked out of his eyes.

Sasuke stood up, pulling Naruto up with him and drawing him into a tight hug. Naruto pulled himself deeper into the hug, and for a long moment they just stood there.

"I guess we both had the wrong ideas, huh?" Sasuke asked quietly, stroking Naruto's hair.

Naruto snorted. "We were pretty idiotic at that age." Suddenly, he tensed up again. "What happened after I left the bar?"

Sasuke pulled halfway out of the hug so he could look at Naruto. His lip was quivering, and he looked on the verge of another panic attack.

"I came this close to killing him." Sasuke held up a hand, showing Naruto the space between his thumb and finger. "This close. But that dumbass Kakashi had to intervene and I didn't get to slash his throat." Sasuke pulled Naruto in close. "I think he was given to the proper authorities. He won't be around anymore."

"So now people will know?" Naruto was trying to control his trembling, but it wasn't working.

"It's not going to be common knowledge." He went from stroking Naruto's hair to rubbing soothing circles on his back. "That's not your fault either."

Naruto didn't reply, instead burying his face into Sasuke's neck.

Up in his tree, Kakashi watched intently. He had gotten to the bottom of the Naruto/Sasuke mystery, but at what cost? And was the personal moment the two boys were sharing going to change their relationship again? He decided he had seen enough, and silently vowed that he wasn't going to let his curiosity get the better of him again.

He had barely made it back into town, when he found himself confronted by one very pissed off academy teacher.

"Didn't I tell you to mind your own fucking business!" Iruka was screaming. He punched Kakashi in the mouth, and though Kakashi could have easily avoided it, he let the blow land. "Didn't I tell you that man was a sick, twisted bastard? Did you listen? NO! You had to go and drag your students down to a dingy bar and bait him, and scare Naruto half to death!"

Kakashi remained silent.

"Where is he, by the way! Is he alright?" Iruka's voice suddenly dropped a hundred decibels. "I never had any idea… I knew he'd had it bad… But this… It's too much…"

Kakashi put a hand on the man's shoulder. "Naruto is fine. He's upset, but he's okay. The 'sick bastard' is currently being escorted far away to be executed. And Sasuke and Naruto have figured out where their friendship went wrong. Turns out it was a huge misunderstanding. The last I saw, Sasuke was doing a damn good job of comforting Naruto, and I'm not sure, but I think they may be best friends again before long."

Iruka was glaring at him again. "Don't you dare try to play this off like you did it for their benefit!"

Kakashi quickly shook his head. "No. I messed up bad. I had no right to interfere like that. I'm going to apologize to Naruto in the morning, if he'll speak to me at all. I had no idea that Naruto had been through that." Kakashi hung his head.

Iruka sniffed, wiping tears out of his eyes. "I didn't know either. Why would he keep something like this a secret?"

"Wouldn't you?" Kakashi slowly walked away.

_**

* * *

**__**3 ½ Years Earlier**_

When Naruto woke up, he had no idea where he was. Everything was white, and he was in a really soft bed. For a minute, he thought he was dead, until he moved and every muscle in his body screamed in agony.

He yelled, partly out of pain, partly out of desperation, and sat up. He wasn't bleeding anymore, and he had been bandaged up, but his body was still on fire. He had been changed into loose, white pants. Then, he realized that he had failed to kill himself for the second time, and he started crying.

Suddenly, he realized he wasn't alone in the room. There was a ninja sitting in the chair by the window, and the man looked like he had just woken up. It was the same ninja that Naruto had found in the street the previous night. He was staring at Naruto with wide eyes.

"It's okay kid. You're okay. They got all the poison out of your system. You're going to be okay."

Naruto only cried harder.

The door to the room opened, and a lady in a white uniform walked in. Naruto watched her carefully through his tears. She gave a pointed look at the ninja, and he got up, glancing at Naruto one last time before he left. "Take care kid. And don't ask any more drunk Jounin for poison, will ya?" And he was gone, leaving Naruto alone with the lady.

"Where am I?" Naruto asked as the lady came up to him, looking over a chart in her hand. "Who are you?"

"You are at the Konoha Medical Center. I'm a medic nin. My name is Hakka." Her tone of voice was very impersonal. "You are very fortunate to be alive. You swallowed enough poison to kill twenty full-grown men. You're still suffering from the after effects, so don't be surprised if you get sick, and you'll be laid up for a few days." She pushed Naruto back on the bed. "Don't move around a lot. You're body is very weak right now, and the pain will only get worse if you're up and about."

And just like that, she was gone.

But Naruto didn't stay in bed. The minute the door had closed, he had jumped up, stifling the cry of pain that tried to squeeze past his throat.

He looked around, going to the window and noticing that he was looking down on the rest of the village. That meant the building was very tall, and it gave him an idea.

Iruka sighed as he stepped out of the hospital room. He had just been visiting one of his students, a real trouble-maker who had a lot of trouble paying attention in class. Which was why he had ended up hurt so badly.

This whole teacher bit was really starting to get on his nerves. At first, the idea of passing on his knowledge to the next generation had appealed to him. Now, however, it was just a capital pain in the ass.

And of course, the kids' parents couldn't blame their own kid for screwing up. It was the teachers' fault. It was always the teachers' fault. Like Iruka could actually keep an eye on every single one of the snot-rags in his class when he was first introducing them to very sharp weapons.

Iruka was bumped out of his thoughts by a medic nin who came racing out of the room he was walking past. He jumped when she started shouting.

"Where the hell did my patient go!" She turned to Iruka, but didn't apologize. "Have you seen a little boy? He's blonde, got blue eyes, three scars on each cheek?"

Iruka shook his head, and suppressed a shudder at the description of the boy. He had a feeling that the boy she was talking about was probably the same boy that had the nine-tailed fox sealed away inside him, and he was glad that he had not run into the boy.

The med huffed and pushed passed Iruka, shouting "I'm missing a patient!"

Iruka tried to shrug it off as he wound his way out of the building. There was increasing activity as the search for the boy turned large scale.

When he was finally outside, Iruka let out a sigh of relief, quickly taking in the crowd that was huddled together and staring at something in the sky. He quickly followed their line of sight, and found that they weren't looking at the sky, but at the roof of the building.

A little blonde boy was standing there, very close to the edge. Iruka watched with growing horror as the boy took another step, and was suddenly hurdling through the air.

He didn't stop to think. He just reacted. He leapt up into the air as hard as he could and grabbed the boy. They fell back to the ground and rolled a few times, but they were both okay.

Iruka sat there staring at the boy, taking in the whisker-like scars, the bandages all over his body, and his intense blue eyes that were currently clouded with confusion. The confusion soon gave way to helpless rage as the boy scrambled to his feet, howling with pain.

"No! What is wrong with you people! I hate you! I hate you all! Why would you do that!" He was glaring at Iruka, and didn't notice the medic nins coming up behind him. They grabbed him up, and he started screaming.

"NO! I was supposed to die! You ruined it! Everyone ruined it! I need to die! I have to!" He was fighting with all his might to get free, but it did no good and he was whisked back into the building.

Iruka was in shock. Whatever he had been expecting when he met the kyuubi vessel, it hadn't been that. Why the hell would a nine year old want to kill himself?

And suddenly he realized he didn't hate the kid. He slowly got up and followed the medics.

He waited outside the room they took him in, and heard the screaming double. When the medics came out, he got the chiefs' attention.

"What's wrong with him?"

She shook her head. "A Jounin brought him in really early this morning. Somehow the kid got hold of his poison and ate it all. I thought it had to be an accident, until just now. He was beat up bad. I don't know if that's why he's trying to kill himself or if there's something else. I suspect abuse. It doesn't help that no guardian has shown up for him yet, and the hokage himself is going to be coming to see him soon." She shrugged, and was on her way.

Iruka was frowning at the door. He could still hear the blonde screaming, although his voice seemed to be losing strength. He waited, and finally the screaming stopped. Stepping closer to the door, he heard sobs, and pity and anger welled up in the pit of his stomach. He took another deep breath and opened the door.

Naruto kicked, screamed, and bit until he was back in his bed. This time, they strapped him down and he started screaming even louder.

The medics examined him quickly and left, and Naruto was left alone. He fought against the restraints as hard as he could, but he couldn't get free.

He screamed as loud as he could and as long as he could until he was reduced to sobs that hurt his whole body. He didn't even noticed Iruka enter the room.

Finally, he had cried so hard he couldn't breathe, and his sobs came to a halt in a series of choking coughs. He was gasping for breath.

Iruka was watching him, swallowing the lump in his throat as he was forced to think about his dead parents, and swallowing the guilty knot in the pit of his stomach when he thought about how much he wanted to hate the child in front of him.

But he couldn't. There was something pathetic and sad about the shivering boy in front of him that wrenched his heart in all the wrong places.

Naruto finally noticed the man standing beside his bed. "What do you want?"

"What's your name?" Iruka asked, automatically reaching out to wipe away the tears on the blondes face. He jerked his head away, flinching, and Iruka hesitated for a moment before slowly and deliberately continuing the motion. The boy tensed when Iruka made contact, and Iruka had to swallow down the rush of anger he felt as he realized that this boy had indeed been abused—and badly.

When Iruka withdrew his hand, the boy relaxed a little. "My name is Naruto."

"It's nice to meet you Naruto. My name is Iruka."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "What do you want? Did you come to rub it in?"

Iruka was taken aback by Naruto's bitterness. "I just want to talk to you."

Naruto turned his head away. "Why?"

"It scares me that you're trying to kill yourself." Iruka answered slowly. "Why would you do something like that?"

Naruto turned back towards him with a glare. "Why do you care? No one else does!"

Iruka knew at once that was probably right. "I guess I just have a big heart. Where do you live?"

Naruto sniffed, turning away again. "In a foster home."

Iruka was surprised that he was getting answers. "What are your foster parents names?"

"I don't know."

Iruka had to fight to not patronize the boy. "How can you not know their names?"

"I don't know! I've never been allowed to call them anything but 'Sir' and 'Ma'am,' okay! They never told me their names."

"Okay. I'm sorry. Are they the reason you want to kill yourself?"

Naruto shook his head, still not looking at Iruka. "I just have to die. I need to."

"Why?" Iruka was probably pushing a little too hard, but he really wanted to know what drove a kid to attempt suicide.

"I just do! But it's not working! I've tried! And tried! And tried!" Naruto was starting to cry again. "Sir was right! I'm not good for anything!"

"What did you try?"

"I talked back, because Sir said he would kill me if I talked back to him. I told him to 'shut the fuck up' but he didn't kill me! He started to, but he didn't finish! Then I asked that ninja how, and he gave me that stuff that burned! And then I tried to jump, but you stopped me! You stopped me!" He was lost to tears again.

Iruka was horrified. He tried to stroke Naruto's hair, but the boy jerked away, more violently this time.

"I'm sorry I couldn't let you do it." Iruka almost meant it. "But you're too young to be deciding that your life is over. It will get better. I promise."

"No-no! It won't! It was better but now it's not and it's all my fault! It will never get better!"

Iruka was at a loss as Naruto slipped back into the body wrenching sobs that made him want to gouge out his heart just to make it stop hurting.

AN: Well there it is... Chapter twelve is currently underway, and I think there will only be one chapter after that to end the story... I apologize ahead of time if the shit hits the fan and I get thrown back into the stoneage again... this whole internet-less business is a pain in the ass...


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